Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the UN, on Sunday night called for the Palestinian Authority (PA) to stop its payments to terrorists, following the shooting attack at the Ofra junction in Binyamin.
Haley was responding on Twitter to Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon, who wrote, “A short time ago, a despicable terrorist fired from a vehicle at Israelis - including a pregnant woman - in Ofra. Once caught, the Palestinian Authority will pay the terrorist a monthly salary, as this is part of the PA's incitement campaign, which encourages such attacks.”
“These payments need to stop,” wrote Haley.
According to Palestinian Authority figures, the monthly allowance per prisoner is higher than that of an active member of the PA security forces. The PA budget for payments to terrorists in Israeli prisons skyrocketed to $158 million in 2017.
Despite repeated calls from both Israel and the United States to stop the practice of paying terrorists, PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas has continuously stressed that “families of the martyrs will continue to receive their allowances in full."
In a recent speech, Abbas called the PA's continued payments to terrorists a "red line" that would not be halted under any circumstances.
"The salaries of the shaheeds (martyrs) are our red line. We absorb a lot of pressure, but we will not compromise or give up on this matter, the money will go to them - until the last expulsion," Abbas said during a speech at the Executive Committee of the PLO in October.
