According to calculations presented by Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the Palestinian Authority is scheduled to payout NIS 12,604,000 ($3,478,015) to the terrorist over his lifetime, who broke into a private home in the Jewish community of Halamish and slaughtered three members of the Solomon family who were celebrating the birth of a child.
The payments are part of a sophisticated payment scheme by the Palestinian Authority to jailed terrorists or the families of terrorists killed in the act of attempted murder. The Palestinian budget for “pay-to-slay” payments—as they are now being called in Israel and the United States—was $347 million in 2017, and was increased to $403 million in the 2018 budget.
The Solomon family was sitting in the Halamish home of parents Yosef and Tova after a Shabbat meal on Friday night, preparing to receive guests in honor of the birth of a grandchild that morning when Omar al-Abed entered, murdering grandfather Yosef and two of his children, Elad and Chaya. Yosef’s wife Tova was injured, but Elad’s wife managed to flee with the children to a different part of the house.
Abed received the punishment of four life sentences for the murders.
Lieberman’s calculations were released ahead of a first vote on a bill that would offset taxes and tariffs that Israel collects on behalf of the P.A. and transfers to Ramallah. Israel transfers more than $120 million each month.
There is pending legislation in Israel to attempt to stop this process.
“I call on all MKs to join us and vote in favor of the law and put an end to this theater of the absurd,” said Lieberman. “Every shekel sent to the murderers will be deducted from the P.A. tax money. We will stop funding terrorism.”
Under the current “pay-to-slay” scheme, Abed al-Karim Adel Asi is anticipated to receive $3,478,236 during his lifetime for the murder of Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal earlier this year. The three terrorists who murdered Naama and Eitam Henkin while they were driving home with their four children in 2015 are expected to receive between $2,776,044 and $3,100,689 during their lifetimes.
The average monthly income of a working Palestinian in the West Bank is $580, according to Israeli officials, the same amount paid out to terrorists who receive three- to five-year sentences for terrorist acts.
Terrorists found guilty of committing serious crimes that receive 20-year or longer jail sentences receive five times that per month for life. Terrorists who are also Israeli citizens receive an additional monthly bonus of $145 on top of the “pay-to-slay” payment scheme, bumping their reward payments to $2,900—higher than the average Israeli monthly income.
The Israeli NGO Palestinian Media Watch was responsible for researching the figures paid as part of the Palestinian budget and identified the terrorists receiving those payments.
Recently, a mass media campaign was launched to educate Israelis about the sophisticated nature of the pay-to-slay scheme, which is being funded in part by monthly Israeli tax and tariff transfers.