In 2004, the Palestinian Authority launched its “Martyrs Fund,” promising to pay Palestinians who died or were thrown in prison as a result of committing terrorism against Israel. These “pay-for-slay” payouts add up to hundreds of millions of dollars per year. And while President Mahmoud Abbas claimed last year that he would end the program, it was enshrined by the proposed Palestinian constitution he released earlier this month.
Until last June, American victims of terrorist attacks in Israel had little legal recourse. Then the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) could be held liable for civil claims arising from their sponsorship of terrorists and their families.
One of the first lawsuits seeking to take advantage of that ruling is winding through a federal court in New York City. In 2016, 28-year-old Taylor Force was stabbed to death in Tel Aviv. His Palestinian killer was hailed as a martyr by the official PA news station. The lawsuit, filed in October, alleges that he was “induced” by “the promise of future reward” under the pay-for-slay program.
