Congressman Jared Moskowitz (D-Florida) has introduced the PLO and PA Terror Payments Accountability Act of 2024. The legislation has garnered bipartisan support from over 30 co-sponsors, with Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) leading a companion bill in the Senate.
The PLO and PA Terror Payments Accountability Act aims to curb martyr payments—financial rewards given to terrorists and their families after committing violent acts such as bombings or stabbings in Israel.
These “pay-to-slay” policies incentivize terrorism, often correlating the payment size with the number of casualties caused. Despite the Taylor Force Act of 2018, which halted economic aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) while such policies continued, additional measures are deemed necessary.
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Key provisions of the PLO and PA Terror Payments Accountability Act include:
- Imposing sanctions on foreign individuals who facilitate terrorist martyr payments.
- Sanctioning foreign individuals who provide significant support to these facilitators.
- Enforcing additional sanctions on foreign financial institutions that process martyr payments or engage in substantial financial transactions with those sanctioned for “pay-to-slay” activities.
- Mandating the President to implement these sanctions within 90 days.
- Introducing a sunset clause if the PLO and PA cease martyr payment policies.
“The Pay to Slay program is unconscionable and incentivizes the murder of Israeli civilians. Congress needs to send a clear, bipartisan message to the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian Liberation Organization that these atrocious martyr payments for terrorist acts against Israel will not go unpunished,” stated Congressman Moskowitz.
Congressman Lawler added, “The Taylor Force Act was a noble effort to end ‘pay-to-slay’ terrorism in the Middle East. Unfortunately, years after its enactment, we still find ourselves in the vicious, ongoing cycle of ‘pay-to-slay’ terrorism. It must end. That’s why I’ve joined a bipartisan group of colleagues to introduce the PLO and PA Terror Payments Accountability Act, which will impose additional sanctions on individuals and entities that enable this horrific practice. This practice is a total affront to all that the United States and Israel uphold, and it must be brought to an end. I won’t stop working with my fellow members of Congress to pass this critical legislation, and it is my sincere hope that it will receive near-unanimous support, as it combats a grisly form of terrorism that goes against the most basic level of human rights.”
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Congressman Gottheimer recalled, “Twenty-eight years ago, terrorists murdered Sara Duker, from my District, along with 25 other innocent civilians in the 1996 Jerusalem Jaffa Road bus bombing. Instead of condemning the despicable terrorist who killed Sara, the Palestinian Authority has compensated him. This is one of many disgusting cases where the Palestinian Authority has rewarded the families of jailed and killed terrorists for taking lives. Terrorism literally pays. I’m proud to support the bipartisan, commonsense PLO and PA Terror Payments Accountability Act, which will put a stop to ‘Pay for Slay’ terrorism. The United States does not — and will never — condone this model of terrorism, which is an affront to human rights, justice, and peace.”
“I am pleased to co-lead the PLO and PA Terror Payments Accountability Act of 2024, which builds upon the foundation laid by the Taylor Force Act, which I introduced and was passed into law by the Trump Administration,” stated Congressman Lamborn. “This legislation builds upon our commitment to curbing policies that incentivize terrorism by imposing sanctions on those who facilitate or support martyr payments. It ensures accountability by mandating swift enforcement of these measures within 90 days, with provisions for a sunset clause if the PLO and PA discontinue these harmful practices.”
The introduction of the PLO and PA Terror Payments Accountability Act marks a significant step in the ongoing effort to address and dismantle financial incentives for terrorism, with the hope of garnering bipartisan support to advance the legislation swiftly.
Moskowitz is joined by co-leads Congressman Mike Lawler (R-New York), Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey), and Congressman Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado).
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