The Palestinian Authority (PA) is continuing to transfer payments to terrorists and their families, despite a public commitment by PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas to immediately halt salaries to terrorists, according to a report in the British Telegraph.
According to the report, Abbas assured UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer that the PA would completely end the payment of salaries to terrorists. In practice, however, it has found indirect ways to continue providing funds to those who murdered or harmed Jews.
The newspaper states that the payments are now being transferred through a new welfare program called PNEEI, which is presented as a needs-based social assistance initiative but in effect enables the indirect transfer of money to the families of terrorists.
The report notes that within the European Union, evidence is growing that the PA has not canceled the policy, despite commitments made to Europe as part of efforts to advance recognition of a Palestinian state.
The European Commission has recently approached the Palestinian Authority requesting clarifications regarding the mechanism of the new program and whether it constitutes an indirect continuation of the longstanding model.
European officials are now awaiting an official response amid concerns that funds are being transferred under the guise of social support, in violation of the PA’s commitment.