The Palestinian Authority has for years taken care of the families of any West Bank or Gaza Palestinian killed, hurt or imprisoned by Israelis — whether a murderer or an innocent shepherd. The monthly stipends embodied the belief that such individuals were part of the national struggle.

Under international pressure to stop the practice — including from the U.S. and European Union — that social contract is being rewritten. Across refugee camps and urban centers, payments to families have been cut off, and protests have erupted in several West Bank cities in recent days.

The PA has been promising to make the change for years and announced the end of the program in February, but only started withholding payments about two months ago. The Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, a West Bank representative group, confirmed the payments had been suspended.

Yasmeen Abu Latifeh, a 27‑year‑old widow, said her 2,000‑shekel ($625) monthly stipend vanished in November, leaving her unable to pay rent or buy food.

“There is no work here. Why did they take this step? We are the ones in need,” she said, now living with her in‑laws in an overcrowded home in Qalandia Refugee Camp near Ramallah.

From Israel’s perspective, the longstanding policy has been an incentive for terrorism, particularly because financial rewards can be greater for harsher acts — a life sentence for murder meant lifelong support for the family. The practice has been a key reason many governments have told the PA — which runs parts of the West Bank — it must initiate reforms.

That demand formed part of President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas, agreed to by both sides in October. The ceasefire proposal envisions a Gaza run by an apolitical, technocratic committee “until such time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform program.” PA President Mahmoud Abbas has since followed through with plans to revise the stipend system, shifting it to one based on financial need.

The result, so far, is fierce criticism from all sides. Some Palestinian families accuse the leadership of prioritizing Israel’s demands over their own welfare, with many saying the sudden loss of income has pushed them into financial hardship. That’s deepened the frustration toward the PA and reinforced a sense of betrayal among communities that regard prisoners as national symbols.

Abbas said last week that shifting to a welfare model doesn’t mean abandoning prisoners or bereaved families. Loyalty to “martyrs, prisoners, the wounded, and their families” remains a national obligation, he said in a statement.

That’s what angers Israel. The stipends may no longer be official homage to anti-Israel activists, but still includes them.

“This is Pay-for-Slay, a policy that nurtures terror,” the Israeli foreign ministry posted on X.

The changes are nonetheless significant. Every family seeking support must now fill out detailed forms regarding its assets and income. Until now, wealth didn’t matter if your relative was considered a martyr or in an Israeli jail. Meanwhile, if you were poor but no one in your family took part in anti-Israel activity, you got little.

Now all payments are being rerouted through welfare bodies and beneficiaries are being reclassified as social‑aid recipients.

Polling by researcher Khalil Shikaki shows that Palestinians view the reform as part of a broader crisis of the PA’s legitimacy. Two thirds of the public oppose the change, raising the prospect of further protests if it’s not reversed.

But without ending the payments, the PA will continue to struggle to gain favor with the U.S. and Israel in the long effort to achieve Palestinian statehood. Israel has withheld 4 billion shekels ($1.25 billion) in tax revenues aimed at this program that it collected for the PA since 2019, citing the stipends as justification, part of a policy that has repeatedly pushed the PA into financial crisis.

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