Abbas Orders Overhaul of Palestinian Prisoner Payments

Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree on 10 February 2025 revoking provisions for payments to Palestinian prisoners and families of those killed or wounded. The previous scheme included convicted attackers and other prisoners, with payments linked to sentence length; critics called it 'pay for slay' and argued it rewarded terrorism. The announced replacement would assess recipients by the same financial-need criteria as other welfare applicants. The decree records a legal change, not proof that the old payment practices ended. The dispute links violence, public funding and diplomatic pressure.