The Palestinian Authority has decided to grant more benefits to freed terrorists. The PA will now guarantee a place of work to “freed prisoners” – the PA’s term for Arabs who have served time in Israeli prison for terrorism-related offenses.
Under the new law, any person who served more than five years in prison for an offense related to terrorism against Israel will be eligible for a job in the public sector if they do not have an alternative source of income.
Those who served particularly long terms will be eligible for more senior positions.
The PA already gives costly benefits to “any person who spent time in an Occupation prison due to his participation in the struggle against the occupation.” Terrorist prisoners get a monthly stipend ranging from 1,400 to 12,000 shekels a month.
Money is given in proportion to the length of the sentence being served, meaning that those serving time for the most serious offenses, including murder, are given the most spending money. Terrorists are also eligible for additional payment based on the size of their family.
The PA continues to give despite suffering from a serious financial crisis. Officials say the PA is $4.2 billion in debt. Unemployment among PA Arabs is growing, with 250,000 unemployed despite a recent gesture of more job permits from Israel.
A guarantee of employment for past terrorists, coupled with leaders’ praise of terrorists as “heroes,” could induce more PA youth to join the ranks of the terror cells targeting Israeli citizens.
The new law follows the release of 26 terrorists who served lengthy terms in Israeli prisons for murder. The terrorists were freed as part of a good-will gesture in ongoing Israel-PA negotiations.