Abbas Cancels Stipends for Prisoners’ Families, Fueling Palestinian Outrage
Abbas ends stipends for prisoners’ families, sparking outrage and hardship.
Watan-Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has issued a new decree canceling the financial allowances for the families of prisoners, martyrs, and the wounded, provoking widespread anger among Palestinians. The decision, coordinated with the Israeli occupation and the U.S. administration, directly responds to demands from Tel Aviv and Washington and threatens to worsen the suffering of thousands of Palestinian families who rely on these stipends for their basic needs.
The cancellation of these financial entitlements follows continuous U.S. and Israeli pressure to halt financial support for the families of Palestinian prisoners. The Trump administration had previously imposed sanctions on the Palestinian Authority for refusing to abandon these payments.
The new decision transfers the cash assistance program from the Ministry of Social Development to the Economic Empowerment Foundation, a move aimed at converting these allowances into conditional aid tied to social criteria rather than being recognized as acquired rights for families of those who made sacrifices for the Palestinian cause.
Hamas condemned the decision, calling it an abandonment of national principles and a betrayal of the resistance. The movement asserted that reducing these struggling families to mere social cases reflects direct submission to Israeli and U.S. pressure. Palestinian activists on social media circulated old videos of Abbas affirming his commitment to paying prisoners’ salaries despite Israeli threats, arguing that his latest decision exposes contradictions in his stance and his continued bias in favor of the occupation.
This decision is not the first of its kind; it aligns with an ongoing approach by Abbas and his administration, who have previously cooperated with the Israeli occupation in suppressing Palestinian resistance and arresting fighters under the so-called security coordination.
Abbas, who remained passive in the face of Israeli crimes in Gaza and contributed to the blockade of the Strip, has now taken another step against prisoners and their families, reflecting his persistent efforts to appease Washington and Tel Aviv at any cost.
The families of prisoners and martyrs now face a harsh reality, as thousands of Palestinian families depend on these allowances to survive under the difficult living conditions imposed by the occupation. Cutting these payments places these families in even greater hardship and raises questions about whether the Palestinian public will accept this move or rise against it, especially amid growing frustration with Abbas’s repeated decisions that align with the occupation at the expense of Palestinian national rights.
