The incentivization of sporadic terrorist attacks on Jewish families in the West Bank complicate the peace process. In 2011, five members of the Fogel family (both parents and three children) were killed as they slept in their home in the settlement of Itamar by two terrorist cousins. In 2014, a car full of terrorists kidnapped three Israeli students who were returning home from yeshiva. One of the teenagers, Naftali Fraenkel, was also an American citizen from New Jersey. In 2015, American-Israeli Eitam Henkin and his wife Naama were driven off a West Bank road by five terrorists and were shot to death in front of their four children.
As President Trump visited Bethlehem on his first overseas trip, his aim was to act as a facilitator between the Israeli government and partner in “peace,” Palestinian President Abbas. However, no level of facilitating will bring any semblance of peace as long as unemployed Palestinians are fiscally incentivized to carry out terrorist attacks against innocent Jewish families. The Palestinian Authority (PA) Martyr’s Fund guarantees payments to any Palestinian who carries out terrorist attacks on Jews and Israelis after conviction in an Israeli court. Oftentimes, foreigners, namely Americans, are victims of such acts of mass murder themselves.
The absurdity of the entire situation can be found in a 2013 passage of a law which stipulates that convicted Palestinian terrorists serving sentences of 30 years or greater will receive upwards of $3,000 per month for life. Of the $1-2 billion in international aid that the PA receives annually, approximately $330 million is devoted to paying terrorists, a lot of whom happen to be teenagers. Such an absurdly huge portion of this aid being devoted to this atrocious program points to the success of the pay-to-slay scheme, which the international community gives to the PA. One might assume that countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, with a known track record of sponsoring terrorism, would be the primary culprits, but, for a long time, the United States and the European Union were the biggest donors.
Monetary incentivization is not the only way that the PA fosters a climate of terrorism. Rampant anti-semitism has permeated every facet of society, mainly geared toward raising the next generation in a culture of violence. Many schools in the West Bank are named after terrorists. Rampant Jew-hatred and promotion of violence are among the racist tropes found in PA school material. PA state television often depicts figures such as bumblebee puppets in children shows espousing rhetoric about the benevolence in throwing stones at Jews and hoping for the destruction of the Israeli state.
Therefore, it is commendable that the United States under President Trump cut all funding to the PA earlier this year. However, the rest of the world has yet to follow suit, and in the meantime, terrorism will be rewarded, more Palestinian youth will be indoctrinated, and more innocent Jewish civilians will continue to live in danger.
Reggie Goswami (COL ’21) is a Contributor.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official or personal position of the Editorial Board, Contributors, or Business Staff of The Georgetown Review.
