Stopping Palestinian Terrorism Pay for Slay

To reign in key financial institutions that work alongside Palestinian banks that provide facilitate the cash requirements of terror organizations, Shurat HaDin placed Citibank on notice that it needed to cease in its dealings with the Bank of Palestine. The letter sent to Citibank headquarters came as a result of efforts by Shurat HaDin to stop the “Pay for Slay” phenomenon, a system of financial rewards offered by the terrorist factions to those who kill Jews and Israelis. The perpetrators of cold-blooded killings rewarded for their crimes by receiving hefty salaries while they are incarcerated; in cases where terrorists have been killed by Israeli security forces, the terrorist’s family receives a lucrative stipend in honor of the crimes their loved ones have committed. “The PA incentivizes killing Jews and Israelis by regularly providing such financial rewards to all imprisoned Palestinian terrorists, including those from Hamas, which has been a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (‘FTO’) in the United States since 1997,” Shurat HaDin President Nitsana Darshan-Leitner wrote to Citibank’s CEO. Citibank serves as a correspondent bank for the Bank of Palestine, enabling the Ramallah-based financial institution to connect to the international banking system. The “Pay for Slay” funds pass through Citibank accounts, exposing the bank to both civil and criminal liability under the US Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). Darshan-Leitner warned Citibank they cannot plead ignorance since “A cursory investigation would have revealed the PA and PLO’s ‘pay to slay’ program and the PA’s use of the banking system,” and that, “sanctions compliance protocols certainly placed Citibank on clear notice Hamas is a designated FTO under the ATA and sanctioned by the United States.”