Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud AbbasREUTERS

The Palestinian Authority’s Fatah party, led by PA chief Mahmoud Abbas, has vowed it will continue to promote payments to jailed terrorists and the families of terrorists killed during attacks on Israeli targets, despite pressure from Israel to end what Israeli leaders have dubbed the “pay to slay” policy.

In a statement released for Martyrs’ Day, Fatah declared its support for the ‘martyrs’ path’ to achieve independence, and expressed full support for the Palestinian Authority’s policy of providing monthly payments to terrorists serving time in Israeli prisons – including those responsible for deadly attacks on Israelis – as well as to the families of terrorists killed by Israeli security forces.

“The rights of martyrs and their families are an inseparable part of the national culture and moral, humane way of life,” Fatah said in the statement.

“The [martyrs] sacrificed their lives in order to give us a better life, therefore we will remain faithful to their families, to their children and their children’s families, at any price.”