Biden admin accused of aiding Palestinian 'pay for slay' as terrorists profit in Hamas deal, experts claim

Many of the newly released convicted Palestinian terrorists who are part of a swap that secured the freedom of some Israeli and foreign hostages held by the terrorist movement Hamas could receive U.S. funds via the Palestinian Authority, an expert on the matter claimed.

Itamar Marcus, director of Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), an Israeli-based organization researching Palestinian society, told Fox News Digital, 'The American and European funding boosts the Palestinian Authority budget by $600 million. The Palestinian Authority pays the salaries of imprisoned terrorists and the family members of the martyrs and the amount comes to $300 million a year.'

Marcus continued, 'There is no doubt that the Palestinian Authority could not pay this funding without the boost of funding from the Americans and Europeans. The Americans and Europeans are absolutely facilitating the payment. It is willful blindness.'

He noted, 'Every single terrorist gets a salary from the Palestinian Authority once they are imprisoned.' According to Palestinian law, Marcus said, a prisoner who serves more than five years in prison receives a monthly salary for life.

Thirty-nine Palestinians, brought by a Red Cross vehicle, reunite with their relatives as they are released from prison as a part of a deal to release Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists, in Al Bireh, West Bank, Nov. 26, 2023.

The release of the Palestinian terrorists comes after a lawsuit in January by victims of terrorism and Rep. Ronny Jackson., R-Texas, alleging the Biden administration pumped more than a half billion U.S. taxpayer dollars into the Palestinian Authority without verifying that the organization isn’t funding terrorism, according to a federal lawsuit.

The Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank (known in Israel by its biblical name of Judea and Samaria), has paid the families of the convicted Palestinians a stipend while their family members were incarcerated as part of the notorious 'pay for slay' program.

According to Palestinian media, over 7,500 released Palestinian prisoners who served more than a five-year prison term have received monthly salaries.

Khaled Abu Toameh, a Palestinian affairs analyst, told Fox News Digital, 'I don't know if some of the released prisoners will return to terrorism, but it's possible that others will now be emboldened to carry out attacks against Israel knowing that they could be released in a prisoner exchange deal.'

Money is highly fungible and vulnerable to terror finance in Mideast countries and regions that are not regulated by modern anti-terrorism standards, according to security officials.

In 2018, in a sign of protest, Congress passed the Taylor Force Act aimed at cutting economic aid to the Palestinian Authority until it ends the payment policy. In addition, Israel, which collects some taxes on commerce and income on behalf of the Palestinian governing body, has passed a similar law.

Kuperwasser, who has written extensively about the dangers of the Hamas rulers in Gaza, said the cease-fire agreement is 'is a done deal. We have to go along with it.'