Report: Palestinian Authority uses half of all foreign aid to fund terrorism

A report from the Institute for Contemporary Affairs has indicated that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is spending half of the money it receives in direct foreign aid to pay stipends to convicted terrorists and their families.

The study noted that the PA receives $692 million in direct foreign aid each year, most of which comes from the U.S. and the EU.

Arutz Sheva reported that $344 million of that amount is used to pay stipends for terrorists and their families.

Four percent of the PA's total budget for this year, which includes foreign aid and tax revenues, is dedicated to "the struggle against Zion," while 13 percent is set aside for paying jailed terrorists and the families of terrorists killed during attacks on Israelis.

The PA now pays over $3,000 a month to jailed terrorists after they carry out terror attacks. The 19-year-old terrorist who killed three Israelis has reportedly been promised a lifetime salary of $3,120 a month, which is more than 10 times the average income in the Palestinian Authority.

According to CBN News, the PA's funding for paying convicted terrorists this year has reached $355 million.

Palestinian Media Watch director Itamar Marcus stated that the increase in funding is a "slap in the face" to the U.S., which has condemned the practice and has called on the Palestinian leadership to stop the payments.

"It's a slap in the face to the United States. It's a slap in the face to the foreign affairs committee that just met last week to decide what to do about this," Marcus said.

"And I'm hoping that the Senate and the American people and the Congress and the administration will act very firmly on this reward to terror," he continued.

The PA has paid over $1 billion to terrorists and families of terrorists over the past four years, according to the Knesset Foreign Affairs Committee.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that the U.S. Senate is currently considering a legislation to defund the PA if it continues to pay terrorists and their families. The measure, called the Taylor Force Act, is named after an American citizen who was killed by a Palestinian terrorist.

"We're going to keep that aid flowing with one condition," said Graham. "The secretary of state has to certify that the Palestinian government is changing their behavior. If he can't do that we'll cut that money off," he added.