Jerusalem, 26 August, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israeli security forces seized five vehicles, approximately 96,000 shekels ($27,000) in cash and gold jewelry from the homes of terrorists and their families in eastern Jerusalem who had been released in hostage deals and were receiving controversial “pay for slay” payments from the Palestinian Authority, Israeli authorities said Wednesday.
The raid targeted terrorists released in hostage deals and their families, whom authorities said continued to receive financial rewards from the Palestinian Authority following the terrorists’ release.
Among those targeted was Muhammad Abd al-Rahman Abad, who was involved in an attempted suicide bombing in Jerusalem in 2002.
Another was Ahed Faiz Ali al-Natasha, a Hamas operative involved in planning a 2001 car bombing at an apartment building in Pisgat Ze’ev and an attack at Jerusalem’s Clal Center that wounded two police officers and 10 civilians.
The Palestinian Authority allocates seven percent of its annual budget to its so-called “Martyr’s Fund,” which provides the stipends. The size of the monthly payouts is primarily determined by the duration of the terrorist’s incarceration, with family size playing a much smaller role. Palestinian Authority salaries to security prisoners in Israeli prisons range from $400 to $3,400 per month, depending on the sentence. Those who participated in terror attacks that killed Israelis — and thus received the most severe sentences — receive the highest payouts.
Israeli officials say the stipends provide incentives for terror and regularly offset an equivalent amount from taxes that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.