Why Abbas Cannot Stop Funding Terrorists

The Fellowship  |  June 27, 2017

Yesterday, Stand for Israel discussed a new piece of legislation meant to pressure the Palestinian Authority to stop its absurd funding of terrorism. But the question remains – why do they continue to pay murderous terrorists? Gatestone Institute’s Bassam Tawil explains that the reasons include showing gratitude for past terrorists, encouraging future terrorists, and because young Palestinians see this is a way to “make a decent living”:

In the past few decades, various Palestinian groups have used the payments to buy loyalty and recruit new members. Because Fatah — the dominant party of the PA — has always reaped the largest share of Arab, Islamic and Western donations, it was able to recruit the largest number of loyalists and members. Headed by Abbas, Fatah terrorists receive the highest salaries for their “contribution” to the Palestinian cause.

The more years a Fatah terrorist serves in Israeli prison, the higher the salary he or she receives. Some Fatah terrorists held in Israeli prison are said to receive monthly stipends of up to $4,000. Many of them are also rewarded with top jobs in both Fatah and the PA…

Palestinian terrorists have become an integral part of a culture that has long been glorifying and promoting acts of terrorism against Israel. Generation after generation, Palestinians have been taught that prisoners and terrorists killed by Israel are the “esteemed sons of the revolution,” the “untouchables.” The official Palestinian narrative is that these men were imprisoned or killed for nothing but “resisting Israel.” This narrative has successfully concealed the truth concerning the imprisonment or death of Palestinian terrorists.

Faced with a new reality in which many in the international community are no longer willing to have their taxpayer money designated for terrorists and their families, Abbas now finds himself trapped between what for him are two terrible moves.

He is currently scurrying to explain to his people why suddenly it has become hard to pay salaries to the very terrorists he trained and continues to glorify by naming streets, public squares and sports centers after them. His people, of course, do not buy his excuses, and many are accusing him of serving Israeli and American interests by abandoning the “good boys” of the “revolution.”

It will take a long time, and a massive shift in attitude, before Abbas or any other Palestinian leader manages to dry up the funds that support terrorists and their families. Such a plan is doomed from the start, unless these leaders reverse their behavior and embark on a process of de-radicalizing their people…