Israel
Abbas fires finance minister over ‘pay-for-slay’ payments to Palestinian prisoners
The Palestinian Authority announced the reshuffle in a bid to prove it is serious about reform
November 12, 2025 11:27
The Palestinian Authority announced the reshuffle in a bid to prove it is serious about reform
November 12, 2025 11:27Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has fired his finance minister, Omar Bitar, reportedly for allowing “pay-for-slay” payments to continue, after the PA claimed the programme had been scrapped.
The news of Bitar’s removal was announced on Monday through Wafa, the PA’s official news outlet, without giving a reason.
However, the Times of Israel reported that his sacking followed an internal investigation into payments he’d authorised to Palestinian security prisoners.
Officially known as the PA Martyrs’ Fund, the “pay-for-slay” scheme has long been accused of encouraging acts of terror. It sees Palestinians and Arab-Israelis who are convicted by Israel of involvement in terror attacks paid monthly “salaries” on a sliding scale (increasing based on sentence length), 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.
The cabinet reshuffle – which sees Bitar replaced by Planning and International Cooperation Minister Estephan Salameh – is apparently part of a bid by Abbas to prove that the PA is serious about reform.
Under the Trump-backed plan for Gaza, the PA has been lined up to take over governance of the Strip after Hamas is deposed, but this transition, and a potential pathway to Palestinian statehood, is conditional upon significant changes in its governance structure.
Demanded reforms include an end to “pay-for-slay” and the implementation of full democratic elections (Abbas was elected to serve a four-year term in 2005).
But Israel remains sceptical of the PA, and has rejected the prospect of the extension of its remit to Gaza.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar tweeted: "Dismissing the Palestinian Authority’s finance minister will not absolve the dismisser, Mahmoud Abbas, and the PA of their complicity in pay-for-slay and responsibility for the ongoing payments to terrorists and their families.
"The Palestinian Authority is trying to fool the world. It won’t work. The truth is stronger."
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