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Relatives and friends of Tzeela Gez, who was shot dead while in a car with her husband in the West Bank, as they were driving to hospital to give birth, mourn during her funeral in Jerusalem, May 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Families of American victims of Palestinian terrorism filed a federal lawsuit in the US this week against the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) over their “pay-for-slay” program, which financially rewards deadly terrorist attacks.
The PA, which exercises limited self-governance in the West Bank and has long been riddled with accusations of corruption, has for years carried out a so-called “pay-for-slay” program, which rewards terrorists and their families for carrying out attacks against Israelis.
Under this policy, official payments are made to Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, the families of “martyrs” killed in attacks on Israelis, and Palestinians injured in terrorist attacks.
Reports estimate that approximately 8 percent of the PA’s budget is allocated to paying stipends to convicted terrorists and their families.
Filed in New York on behalf of Stuart Force and Hananel Gez, this new lawsuit aims to hold the PA and the PLO accountable for financing terrorism.
Stuart Force is the father of Taylor Force, a US Army captain and Vanderbilt MBA student who was killed in a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv in March 2016.
Hananel Gez was the victim of another terror attack earlier this year while driving his wife, Tzeela Gez, to the hospital to give birth. His wife was fatally shot, and their newborn son, Ravid Haim Gez, died two weeks later. Hananel was also injured in the attack.
The families said they were seeking compensatory damages to be determined at trial, along with a court order barring the PLO and the PA from making payments to Palestinian terrorists or their families.
Earlier this year, PA President Mahmoud Abbas announced plans to reform the system, as the group seeks international support for a role in Gaza’s governance after the war.
However, the PA continues providing payments to terrorists and their families, despite repeated promises of reform to Western governments, with amounts rising based on the severity of the attack and the length of prison sentences.
This new lawsuit draws on the legal precedent set by the Fuld v. PLO case in June, which made it possible for American victims of terrorism to pursue compensation for attacks carried out abroad.
Two other pieces of legislation also set important legal precedent for this case: the 2018 Taylor Force Act, which withholds American aid until the PA stops making payments to terrorists, and the 2019 Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, which requires the PLO and PA to submit to US jurisdiction if they continue funding attacks.
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