A U.S. State Department report says the Palestinian Authority paid $156 million to terrorists and their families in 2025, despite claiming reforms that ended the practice.
Story Highlights
- State Department reports $156 million in 2025 terrorism-linked payments by the Palestinian Authority.
- New welfare-style channels allegedly kept the money flowing under different names.
- Watchdogs say files were shifted in 2021 into civil service, military, and pensions to mask stipends.
- Report says released terrorists tied to the October 2025 ceasefire also received payments.
State Department Details 2025 Payments and U.S. Law
The State Department told Congress that the Palestinian Authority paid $156 million in 2025 to terrorists and their families, including $126 million to imprisoned or released individuals and $30 million to families of those who died in attacks. This matters under the Taylor Force Act, which restricts certain aid until these payments stop and related laws are repealed. The finding points to a direct clash with U.S. policy. It also raises questions for donors who want strict, needs-based aid without incentives for violence.
President Trump’s administration now must enforce U.S. law and protect taxpayer funds. Congress conditioned aid to stop any payoff for violence. The report says the core system kept running in 2025 even after the Palestinian Authority’s public talk of reform. That is a red flag for Americans who demand accountability. It also echoes years of warnings from military families and victims’ groups who argued that cash rewards fuel more terror, not peace.
Alleged Rebranding Through New Channels and Entities
Policy analysts reported that the Palestinian Authority shifted from open stipends to a rebranded welfare approach that still directed funds to the same groups. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies summarized the State Department’s finding as a continued “system of compensation in support of terrorism” using new mechanisms, including a foundation called the Palestinian National Foundation for Economic Empowerment. That claim aligns with a pattern where labels change, but the money path and purpose do not, keeping the incentive structure alive.
Watchdog researchers at Palestinian Media Watch say the Palestinian Authority quietly moved thousands of cases in 2021 into civil service, military, and pension buckets to hide the link to terror offenses. Their report describes a deliberate reshuffle designed to protect outside funding while still paying the same recipients. While outside observers lack full access to all internal ledgers, this description fits the pattern of category relabeling that surfaces when aid is at risk and scrutiny rises.
Historic Budget Lines Show a Long-Running Stipend Structure
Earlier budgets showed clear, separate lines for prisoners and for families of those killed in attacks. An education and policy group documented the “Prisoners and Released Prisoners Ministry” receiving over $100 million in some years, and the “Institution for the Care for the Families of the Martyrs” receiving over $160 million in other years, signaling formal, dedicated systems for these payments. Those past structures help explain why a simple name change today does not prove a real reform. The stakes are large, and old habits run deep.
Press accounts based on congressional briefings add that terrorists released during the October 2025 ceasefire received funds after leaving prison. That point undercuts claims that only needs-based welfare now applies. If true, the payments would reward the status of having carried out or supported attacks, which is exactly what U.S. law was written to stop. American taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize any scheme that praises or pays for murder and mayhem abroad.
Policy Implications for U.S. Aid and Accountability
U.S. leaders must now match words with action. The Taylor Force Act requires the end of payments for acts of terrorism, repeal of the laws that enable them, and proof that the system is gone, not renamed. That means auditing where the money actually went in 2025, testing the so-called welfare model, and blocking any channel that rewards violence. Families here know that paying killers invites more bloodshed. Accountability protects both U.S. interests and innocent lives.
Any aid that continues should be transparent, trackable, and tied to peaceful behavior. Clear terms, strict monitoring, and fast cutoffs for violations are common sense. Americans expect their government to stand with victims, not with those who celebrate terror. The State Department’s report gives Congress what it needs to demand answers and to insist on real change, not theater. Results, not rebranding, must decide every dollar going forward.
Sources:
jewishonliner.org, jns.org, jpost.com, fdd.org
