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If Palestinians Are Serious about Peace, "Martyr" Violence Should Not Pay
(Washington Post) David Makovsky, Ghaith al-Omari and Lia Weiner - Any progress on trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must first address the lack of trust that exists between the two sides. For Israelis, Palestinian incitement to violence casts serious doubt as to whether the Palestinians are serious about peace. Despite Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation, official PA pronouncements still refer to Palestinians who murder Israelis as "martyrs." The egregious practice of making payments to families of Palestinians who engage in clear acts of terrorism and to prisoners convicted of such acts stands out severely in this regard. Every year, the Palestinian Authority spends more than $300 million, or 7.6% of its total budget, in support of two foundations dedicated to assisting families of "martyrs" and Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons. There is an entire official compensation apparatus that rewards prisoners who spent more time in Israeli prisons with official positions upon their release, as well as other forms of economic preferential treatment. After persistent international pressure on the PA to cease the payments, Mahmoud Abbas transferred the Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs from the PA to the PLO, which Abbas also chairs. PA budgetary reports last June state that $137.45 million was transferred to the PLO in support of the program. Palestinians argue that the bulk of these prisoners and "martyrs" are political prisoners and innocent bystanders. Israel vehemently denies that it detains people for their political views, but rather only does so for clear-cut involvement in the planning or execution of violent acts. There are clear-cut cases: A Palestinian who deliberately shoots, stabs or rams an Israeli with murderous intent cannot be considered a political prisoner by any stretch of that term. As a first and immediate step, the Palestinian Authority must end payment in such clear-cut cases. Destitute family members can still receive regular assistance, as can any other Palestinians in need, but they should not receive preferential treatment in a way that rewards acts of terrorism. Such a move is necessary in order to signal to the U.S. that the Palestinian side can make difficult decisions in the pursuit of peace. Focusing on this issue during the upcoming Trump-Abbas meeting could put U.S.-Palestinian relations on sounder footing. It is also necessary in order to begin rebuilding trust with Israel. It is necessary to make it clear to the Palestinian public that peace and terrorism are incompatible. David Makovsky and Ghaith al-Omari are senior fellows at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Makovsky was a former senior adviser to the U.S. special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Al-Omari was an adviser to the Palestinian negotiating team and then-Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. Lia Weiner is a senior at Yale University.