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February 3, 2026       Share:    

Source: https://jcfa.org/another-dark-side-of-the-pas-pay-for-slay-policy-and-stage-two-of-the-gaza-plan/

The U.S. Has Spent Millions to Train PA Security Forces; the Return on that Investment Has Been Minimal

(Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs) Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch - The Palestinian Authority's "Pay-for-Slay" policy is much more than just terrorists receiving a salary. Their families enjoy a host of benefits. When released from prison, the terrorists are paid special grants and those who spent more than 20 years in prison are entitled to purchase a new car tax-free. Terrorists who spent over ten years in prison are given a position in the PA, with the seniority of the position based on the time they spent in prison. If the PA does not call the terrorist to work, he may simply sit at home and enjoy the salary linked to the position. The case of PA police officer Raed al-Sheikh is illustrative. On October 12, 2000, IDF reservists Vadim Nurzhitz and Yossi Avrahami mistakenly entered the PA-controlled city of Ramallah. The two were brutally lynched by a Palestinian mob inside the city's police station. Al-Sheikh was one of the leaders of the attack, personally participating in the killing. He repeatedly struck Nurzhitz in the head with a wrench. Convicted of murder, he was sentenced to two life sentences. Al-Sheikh was released on Oct. 22, 2025, as part of the deal to secure the release of some of the hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023. While in prison, the PA paid al-Sheikh over NIS 1.4 million. When released after 25 years in prison, al-Sheikh was entitled to the rank of major general in the PA security forces. While the U.S. has spent almost $1 billion from 2007 through 2025 to train and improve the PA security forces, unfortunately, the return on that investment has been minimal at best and is probably negative. The writer, former director of the Military Prosecution in Judea and Samaria, is director of the Palestinian Authority Accountability Initiative at the Jerusalem Center.

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