The Palestinian Authority (PA) mulls changing its pay scheme to families of prisoners held in Israeli prisons for terrorist acts, namely, a cut to "pay for slay" stipends, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
According to the report, the PA considers tying the sum of payouts to the size and needs of the family rather than the length of a prisoner's sentence.
"A single man should not be earning the same as someone with a family,” PA Prisoners Affairs Commission chairman Qadri Abu Bakr said in an interview with the NYT.
The move reportedly comes as part of Ramallah's efforts to build bridges with the administration of the presumptive U.S. President-elect Joe Biden.
The payments to the families of those incarcerated in Israel, including those sentenced on terrorism charges, have long been a hurdle for PA outreach in Washington.
The practice, which is popular among Palestinians, is widely reviled among Israeli officials, who see it as encouraging further violence against Israelis.
This week, the PA took other steps purportedly meant to set the stage for contacts with the next U.S. administration, announcing the restoration of security cooperation with Israel and, reportedly, returning its envoys to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
Reprinted with permission from i24NEWS