The Palestinian Authority (PA) operates a dedicated ATM network, separate from the regular banking system, to continue transferring payments to terrorists and their families despite Israeli enforcement measures.
That is the claim made by Lt. Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch, an attorney and researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, in a new study examining how the PA continues to transfer the funds. In an interview with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News, he details the payment system, criticizes Israeli enforcement authorities and outlines measures he says could bring the payments to a halt.
According to Hirsch, the Palestinian Authority has invested millions of shekels in establishing a separate payment system based on ATMs connected exclusively to the Palestinian Postal Bank. "The Palestinian Authority invested millions in developing a system of special ATMs connected only to the Palestinian Postal Bank, rather than to the broader banking system," he says. He explains that an announcement is issued each month when the funds are deposited, and families receive cards allowing them to withdraw the payments.
"Every month, they announce that the money has been deposited in these ATMs and can be withdrawn. They distribute cards to terrorists' families, through which tens of millions are withdrawn each month," Hirsch says. He explains that the dedicated system allows the PA to continue making payments even when economic measures are imposed against it.
Hirsch claims that funds also continue to reach terrorists holding Israeli identity cards, with alternative channels, including money changers, used in such cases. He points to a Knesset discussion and a directive by the defense minister to seize funds transferred to Israeli terrorists, but argues that enforcement efforts remain inadequate.
"The enforcement authorities are doing nothing about it," he says. According to Hirsch, while citizens who fail to report their income may face the seizure of their bank accounts and assets, those receiving payments from the PA face no comparable enforcement.
"Someone who fails to report earnings to the Tax Authority will have assets and a bank account seized, but if you are an Israeli terrorist receiving funds from the PA, you get both undeclared money and a tax exemption," he claims.
According to Hirsch, the Palestinian insistence on continuing the payments is not driven solely by economic considerations.
"The PA works tirelessly to reward terrorism. It is part of their DNA, and they cannot break away from it," he says. He claims the PA regards the payments as an obligation to terrorists and continues making them despite its severe financial difficulties.
"The terrorists are the PA's long arm, and they will keep paying them down to their last penny," Hirsch says. He stresses that, in his view, the continued transfer of funds despite Israeli measures demonstrates the importance the Palestinian leadership attaches to the payments.
Addressing Israeli enforcement measures, Hirsch claims that most of the available tools are not being used at all. He says the main measure currently being implemented is the deduction law, under which the Finance Ministry calculates annually how much the PA paid terrorists during the previous year and deducts that amount from funds designated for transfer to it.
However, he argues that under the current circumstances, these deductions have little impact.
"Each year, they calculate how much the PA paid terrorists in the previous year and deduct that amount, but it makes no difference to them because they are not receiving funds from Israel anyway," he says.
According to Hirsch, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has halted the transfer of funds to the PA, which is facing severe financial difficulties but continues making the payments.
Hirsch also addresses the Paris Protocol, the economic annex to the Oslo Accords governing economic relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He argues that there is no justification for demanding that Israel continue transferring funds to the PA while the PA itself, he claims, is violating its commitments. He notes that in June 2025, Britain and Canada imposed personal sanctions on Smotrich, barring him from visiting either country.
Alongside his criticism, Hirsch outlines a series of enforcement measures he believes Israel should adopt. The first is to map the ATMs allegedly being used to distribute the payments.
"The PA announces in advance when they are depositing the funds," he says, calling on law enforcement authorities to seize the money as soon as it is deposited.
He says IDF forces should arrive at the ATMs when the deposits are made and confiscate both the machines and the money inside them.
"These are terrorism funds that must be seized and confiscated," he argues.
Regarding payment recipients who hold Israeli citizenship, Hirsch proposes establishing an interministerial committee to coordinate enforcement efforts. The measures he advocates include involving the Tax Authority, seizing assets, freezing bank accounts, impounding vehicles and even revoking citizenship. These are proposals put forward by Hirsch and are not measures reported to have been approved by the government.
Hirsch stresses that enforcement must be accompanied by an international public diplomacy campaign presenting documents and data on the payments. In his view, Israel could launch an operation to seize documents and computers from Palestinian Authority offices, providing detailed evidence of the recipients' identities and the amounts they receive.
He believes that presenting pay slips belonging to terrorists imprisoned in Israel could strengthen the public diplomacy effort.
"Everything there is meticulously documented, and we could make substantial gains, both in public diplomacy and in seizing the funds," Hirsch concludes.