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No More Palestinian Authority "Pay to Slay"
(Wall Street Journal) Sander Gerber and Michael Koplow - During his visit to Israel and the West Bank, President Biden must make clear that for the PLO mission in Washington to reopen, the Palestinians must stop paying terrorists, and families of terrorists, who have attacked Israelis. Congress in 2018 passed the bipartisan Taylor Force Act, prohibiting U.S. assistance to the West Bank that directly benefits the Palestinian Authority. Congress also linked the reopening of the PLO mission to the abandonment of the policy informally called "pay to slay." Having a system of payments pegged to the extent of the violence inflicted is a moral stain on the Palestinian Authority. The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs reported that in 2018, the PA spent $344 million to pay 37,500 martyrs and prisoners and only $205 million to support 118,000 welfare recipients. The PA should repeal its pay-to-slay law and build a social safety net open to everyone based solely on need. A legitimate social-welfare system must not encourage violence. Mr. Gerber is a member of the board of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Mr. Koplow is chief policy officer of the Israel Policy Forum.