Decree says families of Palestinians jailed or killed by Israel may apply for social welfare assistance like others.The Palestinian Authority (PA) has announced ending a programme to provide payments to families of Palestinians killed or imprisoned by Israel, a longstanding demand by the United States and Israel.
President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree on Monday “revoking” legal articles relating to the allowances initiative.
The order presented the move as a restructure, moving the fund from the Ministry of Social Development to the Palestinian National Foundation for Economic Empowerment.
It said the families would be eligible for regular welfare payments like other Palestinians “in accordance with the standards of justice and universality”, but it is not clear whether the allowances would stop immediately or continue under a new form.
It is not uncommon for countries to provide special payments to people killed in violent conflict. But the US has long decried the Palestinian so-called Martyrs’ Fund, arguing that it rewards attacks against Israel and dubbing it “pay for slay”.
Hamas condemned Abbas’s “unpatriotic” move on Monday, calling on him to reverse it immediately. “We need to appreciate the sacrifices of the prisoners and wounded and martyrs’ families instead of abandoning them,” the group said in a statement. Advertisement
Israel has previously withheld and deducted Palestinian tax revenues over the payments.
Abbas’s decree comes amid a push by the PA to present itself as an internationally credible option to take over Gaza.
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