Israeli terror victim 'sickened' as terrorists will be released with millions in 'pay for slay' stipends

It is a well-documented travesty that Palestinian terrorists are rewarded for their crimes with monthly stipends from the Palestinian Authority (PA). Money sent from taxpayers in the West is used as payment to terrorists and their families in what has become known as “pay for slay.”

The Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund, the Prisoners Fund, and the Foundation for the Care of the Families of Martyrs financially compensate and support the families of those imprisoned or injured after carrying out violent acts against Israel.

Payments of thousands of dollars a month are awarded to incarcerated terrorists, with more severe crimes and longer sentences earning higher payments. This sliding scale serves to incentivize acts of terror according to the Taylor Force Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 2017.

Itamar Marcus, founder of PalWatch, has highlighted the fact that over 506 million shekels have been paid in stipends to the terrorists being released in the hostage deal, and that as a result, 316 terrorists are now millionaires.

Marcus posted on 𝕏, “In total the 734 terrorists being released have received 506,000,000 shekels, $141,837,000 as PA terror rewards,” adding, “The top winner is terrorist murderer Muhammad Al-Tous, who was paid 2,254,200 shekels, $631,394.”

Al-Tous was imprisoned for his involvement in terror attacks and murder in 1985 and will walk free with over two million shekels.

According to Marcus, all the terrorists to be released in the exchange, including 200 murderers, have been receiving payments from the PA since their arrests, with the total now exceeding $140 million. This figure does not include the amount also given to the families of prisoners which is unknown.

Tal Hartuv, who survived a murderous attack on her life by two terrorists wielding machetes, is now facing the possibility that her attacker may soon be released as a millionaire. 

According to the Jewish Chronicle, she posted on social media: “I want to have a conversation with those who have family in Gaza or those like me who are biting their nails to see if ‘their’ savages will walk free.”

Hartuv changed her name from Kay Wilson due to her old identity being so closely associated with the 2010 attack in which her friend, Kristine Luken, was murdered before her eyes. In an interview with Jonathan Sacerdoti she expressed her anger about the upcoming release of hundreds of terrorists, especially since she still holds British citizenship:

“It made me feel sickened with the rabid injustice of it all. Not only have they been getting fat salaries from British taxpayers’ money over the last year, but they're now going to leave prison as millionaires.”

Speaking of the funds sent by the U.S., the European Union, and the UK, Hartuv said, “They give the PA billions – not millions – billions of dollars and it’s transferred to the PA in good faith.”

She explained that she learned the funds are fungible, meaning that exact accounting of where the money goes is not required. “It’s really a monthly murder stipend,” she said.

Many countries including the United States, Norway, Australia, the Netherlands and others have publicly denounced the “pay-to-slay” program, and a number of Western governments have cut off direct funding to the PA because of these payments incentivizing terrorism, according to UN Watch. 

Despite the danger of her attacker being released, Hartuv is in favor of the hostage deal. However, she took issue with the language used to describe the exchange. “I wouldn’t say it’s a swap, it’s a ransom. We are paying a ransom for these dear people who have been kept in terrible conditions for months,” she said.

Hartuv told ALL ISRAEL NEWS, “This is a heart-wrenching and a terrible deal. It’s a no-win situation, and one of choiceless choices that stands to tear our nation to shreds. It is a repetition of history. It's a bit like our forefather Jacob who wrestled with men and G-d. Hostage families, people in my position and all of this nation, are all wrestling with men and G-d. Men are the decision makers over whom we have no control. G-d in a broad sense, is the matters of feelings and ethics."

She continued by saying, "We need compassion for the hostages and their families, and we equally need justice for our fallen soldiers, the bereaved and those like myself savaged by terrorism. They are of equal importance. In our history we have been through worse yet come through to the other side. I don't know how, but if we can deal with this emotional balancing of justice and compassion one step at a time, we will prevail.”