Gaza – Palestinian factions have strongly condemned the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) decision to halt payments to the families of martyrs and prisoners, and transfer their files to a poverty alleviation foundation. In a joint statement, the factions described the move as a ‘moral decline, a national and ethical fall, and an unforgivable sin.’
The factions asserted that the PA’s decision to cut these payments is a dangerous policy that deepens division and represents a blatant response to external dictates and a clear submission to the policies of the Israeli occupation government. The statement further called for immediate national and popular action to protect these struggling families from the encroachment of some PA officials on their legitimate rights.
The factions highlighted that this suspect move comes at a time when prisoners inside Israeli occupation prisons are subjected to the most heinous and brutal fascist practices targeting their lives and humanity.
The Islamic Jihad Movement stated that the PA’s unjust decision is in line with the dictates of the occupation and its project to strip the Palestinian cause of its spirit and meaning. In a statement, the movement considered the PA’s cutting of salaries to the families of martyrs and allowances for prisoners and the wounded a political and moral crime.
The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement affirmed that the PA’s decision represents submission to American and Israeli pressure and abandonment of authentic national issues. They see it as a punitive measure targeting important segments of the Palestinian people who have offered the most precious sacrifices on the path of liberation and return. The movement demanded that the PA immediately retract all measures affecting the rights of fighters and return to the previous systems.
In November, PA President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree-law abolishing the entitlement system based on the status of prisoner, martyr, or wounded, and replacing it with a unified social research system that determines entitlement based solely on need, regardless of years of imprisonment, nature of injury, or martyrdom. The decree also stipulates the transfer of the cash assistance program, its database, and its financial allocations, both local and international, from the Ministry of Development.
