Answer Taylor Force Act with Return of Direct Payments to Families of Terrorists

Just days after the US Congress enacted the Taylor Force Act which suspends aid to the Palestinian Authority as long as it pays stipends to the families of terrorists killed while attacking Israelis and to captured terrorists, the Palestinian Authority decided to return to the direct payment of such support directly to the families. In order to do so, it has budgeted some $343 million – about 7 percent of the Palestinian Authority’s annual budget — for that purpose in the annual budget. The American legislation was named for a South Carolina man who was murdered by a terrorist during a visit to Israel. In Jerusalem, the response came quickly as government officials accused Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of aiding and abetting terror. It’s a position shared by some other nations which object to being asked to donate to the PA budget and then see the money used to pay stipends to terrorists. Abbas and his government argue that failing to pay the stipends will open the door to those families to become more radicalized by groups such as Hamas.