The Palestinian Authority was slammed on a Times Square billboard for its “pay for slay” scheme — which critics claim doles out financial rewards to terrorists who kill Israeli civilians.
“Palestinian Authority still pays for killing Jews … END PAY FOR SLAY,” the electronic billboard’s message read, next to a picture of a scowling Mahmoud Abbas, the authority’s president.
The billboard was erected in collaboration with Israel’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, according to the Jerusalem Post.
“Pay for Slay” refers to the Palestinian governing body’s “martyrs fund,” which doles out stipends to Palestinian terrorists imprisoned for killing or attacking Israelis and to the families of terrorists killed by the Israeli Defense Forces.
The stipend allegedly increases based on the severity of the attack and the length of the prison sentence, critics have claimed.
The fund incentivizes terrorism, critics have charged — while the Palestinian government insists that the payments provide a lifeline to those they feel are prisoners of war.
The PA has handed out hundreds of millions of dollars since the fund was established in 2004.
The fund costs $300 million per year and eats up 8% of the PA’s yearly budget, according to the Israel Policy Forum.
Abbas signed a decree formally ending the “pay for slay” program in February 2025, but reports have claimed the PA has continued to funnel money to terrorists through hidden networks.
The US State Department informed Congress the PA continued to hand out more than $200 million to terrorists and their families in 2025, The Free Beacon reported.
The billboard comes after Abbas revealed a draft resolution of the constitution for a state of Palestine — which erases the Jewish connection to Jerusalem.
The Jewish religion has seen Jerusalem as its holy capital since the times of King David, and the city hosts many ancient Jewish religious sites, including the Western Wall.
The modern state of Israel has considered Jerusalem its capital since its founding in 1948, and the city was reunited under the Jewish state after the 1967 Six Day War.
The city has long been a flashpoint in Middle Eastern politics due to its housing of the Al Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.
The draft document referred to Jerusalem as the “capital of the State of Palestine,” and vows to protect its “Islamic and Christian sanctuaries,” but notably omits any mention of Jews or Judaism, The Jerusalem Post reported.
The proposed constitution also would call for Islamic Sharia (law) to be the “primary source for legislation.”
