A UK newspaper reported on Monday that British aid to the Palestinian Authority helps fund the salaries of convicted terrorists.

The Telegraph report is based on research performed by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) and shows the value the Palestinian Authority (PA) places on terrorists.

It has revealed that under 2004 Palestinian legislation known as the Palestinian Law of the Prisoner, people convicted of terror offences are immediately placed on the Palestinian Authority payroll. The salaries are reserved for those “resisting the occupation”, not those guilty of other crimes.

The more serious the offence, the more money is paid. Based on Palestinian documents, PMW says that the longest-serving terrorists receive £2,075 per month, plus bonuses for wives and children. Grants made upon release can be as much as £50,000. The average Palestinian wage is about £312 per month.

According to PMW, the “Palestinian Authority (PA) paid more than £60 million” to convicted terrorists in 2013. The payments are enabled by the generous aid Britain has given to the PA, amounting to “£343 million between 2011 and 2015,” paying for “salaries and bonuses to about 5,000 convicted terrorists.”

The practice of paying terrorists’ salaries has long been documented.

Abbas and other members of the Palestinian leadership regularly lionize terrorists. “Brave prisoner,” “pure soul” and “freedom fighters” are among the praises used by the PA leadership to describe terrorists.

Most recently the PA’s main faction Fatah, headed by Abbas, announced a unity agreement with the terrorist organization Hamas, derailing the ongoing American sponsored peace talks with Israel.

Rather than reflecting the values and practices of a moderate government, Fatah seems rooted in its past as a terrorist organization. Deborah Danan explored other ways in which Palestinian politics is stuck in the past in the June 2013 issue of The Tower Magazine.

[Photo: Wikipedia ]