‘’We asked for clarification to the PA and we had a frank discussion. I can confirm that on our side no single euro has been spent in this contested payment,’’ a Commission spokesperson told European Jewish Press one day after the inaugural meeting of an  EU-initiated Palestine Donor Group in Brussels in the presence of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa.

The European Commission said it ‘’profoundly regrets’’ that the Palestine Authority (PA) has still continued with the ‘’pay for slay’’ system, rewarding families of terrorists with payments and incentives despite previous commitments to end it in the framework of the reform agenda required by the EU as a condition to financial support.

The ‘’Pay for Slay’’ system has not yet been absolished and this is why Israel is whitholding tax revenues it is collecting in the name of the Palestinian Authority.

‘’We asked for clarification to the PA and we had a frank discussion. I can confirm that on our side no single euro has been spent in this contested payment,’’ a Commission spokesperson told European Jewish Press on Friday, one day after the inaugural meeting of an  EU-initiated Palestine Donor Group in Brussels in the presence of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa

Sixty delegations took part in the meeting of this platform bringing together member states and international partners ‘’to support a reformed and well-functioning Palestinian Authority and ensure accountability and progress.’’

The Commission spokesoperson said that ‘’there was a commitment from the PA to start an audit of the new payment system which will start in January ‘’so this will allow us to carry out verification to assess that no such payement scheme is in place and will give us evidence that now we can implement the new social protection reform.’’

European Commission for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, who chaired the Palestine Donor Group, announced that €82 million in new funding to the PA had been pledged to support the Palestinian Authority, all from Germany, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Spain, that will be channelled through the PEGASE system The total amount pledged this year is of more than €88 million, including earlier contributions from Finland, Ireland Italy and Spain.

Apart from the 27 EU memer states, representatives of countries including Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, the UK and Norway, also participated in the gathering.

But no U.S. representative was present despite the invitation to participate, which shows how the Washington adminustration considers any EU role in the Peace Plan which specificcally mentions a Palestinian Authority reform program as a perequisite ‘’for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.’’

It is also significant that no invitation to the meeting was extended to Israel despite the fact that Commissioner Šuica noted in her press remarks following the meeting tha ‘’Israel has of course a significant role to play as they also want to see a reformed Palestinian Authority.’’

‘’This Donor Group was not intended as a criticism to Israel but to support Palestine,’’ the Commission spokesperson said. ‘’The EU underlines the importance of a frank and open diaologue with Israel, its diplomatic engagement and strong relation with this country,’’ he added in response to a question on this absence of invitation.

Šuica said that Europe is applying strong pressure on Israel to release billions of dollars in withheld taxes ‘’that threaten the continued delivery of services to Palestinians in the West Bank.’’

During the press conference, Mohammad Mustafa said that the PA was pushing ahead with reforms and that they would take “two to two and a half years” to complete.

Šuica emphasized that the EU’s support remains closely tied to the PA’s reform agenda. “We see these reforms as a prerequisite for a viable two-state solution, which is our ultimate goal,” she said.

Since 1994, the EU has provided almost €30 billion in assistance.

What is the ‘Pay for Slay’ ?

Known as the Martyrs’ Fund it guaranteed the Palestinians who are imprisoned by Israel – including those convicted for involvement in terror attacks — monthly “salaries” on a sliding scale depending on sentence length, with an additional stipend for their families, and grants available for things such as health insurance and education.

Following years of criticism, PA Chairman  Mahmoud Abbas’ revoked the old system in early 2025 as a token of goodwill towards the Trump administration and publicly reiterated that it was no longer in place in his remarks to the UN General Assembly in September.

But Israel claims that the system is still working – and moreover, that it might involve EU funds in payments through “bypass channels”.