More than half of the 250 Palestinian terrorists released under the Gaza ceasefire deal are thought to be millionaires thanks to the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) “pay for slay” scheme, it has emerged.
Under the deal, in exchange for the last 48 remaining Israeli hostages, Israel released 1,968 Palestinian prisoners, including 250 terrorists who were serving at least one life sentence for murder. Of those, 160 are believed to be millionaires as a result of the system whereby the PA made payments to those convicted of violent offences against Israelis, or to their families, to sustain them while in prison.
In total, Palestinian Media Watch, an Israeli NGO, believes the PA paid out around 229.5m Israeli shekels (over £51 million), to the 250 newly released terrorists.
According to the body’s calculations, the richest recipient is Samir Abu Naameh, who served 39 years in Israeli prison for his involvement in two acts of terror: a 1983 bus bombing that killed six people, including two sisters aged 13 and 15, and wounded 44, and an attack with grenades in 1986, in which one person was killed and 69 were wounded. He is now thought to be worth about £1.7m.
Another terrorist near the top of the rich list – thought to be worth just shy of £1.5 million – is Mahmoud Issa, who has been in prison since 1993 for his involvement in the kidnap and murder of Israeli police officer Nissim Toledano the previous year.
Officially known as the PA Martyr’s Fund, the scheme has long been cited as encouraging acts of terror. It sees Palestinians and Israeli Arabs who are convicted by Israel of involvement in terror attacks paid monthly “salaries” on a sliding scale (increasing the longer they are in prison), with an additional stipend for their families, and grants available for things such as health insurance and education.
In February, the PA announced it would finally be scrapping the scheme, and in September the Times of Israel reported it had seen evidence that a new welfare system was being put in place.
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