Terror Victim to UN: Act Against Palestinian Payments to Terrorists

A victim of a terror attack that left him blind told the UN that anyone “who believes in the value of human life” should fight to stop Palestinian government salaries to terrorists.

Oran Almog, a victim of a Palestinian terror attack, stood beside Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Danny Danon and addressed the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday, calling on the body to stop the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) payments to terrorists.

Almog was severely wounded and blinded and lost five family members, his grandfather Ze’ev Almog, 71, his grandmother Ruth, 70, his father Moshe, 43, his brother Tomer, 9, and his cousin Assaf Staier, 11, when Palestinian suicide bomber Hanadi Jaradat blew herself up in the Maxim restaurant in Haifa in 2003, killing a total of  21 people and wounding 51.

A PA law stipulates that Palestinians who commit terror attacks and their families receive monthly stipends, a policy morbidly termed the “Pay-for-Slay-Program.”

Danon invited Almog to speak at the UN ahead of a UNSC meeting on the situation in the Middle East.

“Until the age of ten I was an ordinary kid, but all this changed in one moment. Just as my family was having lunch at the Maxim restaurant, a Palestinian woman disguised to be pregnant blew herself up between the diners. She murdered twenty-one people, including my father, my little brother, my grandparents, and my cousin Assaf.  I was severely injured and eventually lost my vision,” Almog said in his remarks at the UNSC.

“The Security Council is holding a discussion on the Middle East, but one of the most important subjects, the funding of terrorism by the Palestinian Authority, will remain outside this discussion. The Palestinian leadership is paying salaries to terrorists and their families every single month.  Anyone who believes in the value of human life should act against these payments,” Almog continued.

Terror Attacks Don’t Happen in a Vacuum

During his address to the Security Council, Danon referred to Omar al-Abed, the knife-wielding Palestinian terrorist who brutally murdered three members of the Salomon family during their Sabbath dinner last Friday.

“The murderous attack in Halamish did not happen in a vacuum,” Danon noted. “This terrorist committed a heinous crime following rampant, relentless calls by Palestinian officials inciting violence. It is no secret that the Palestinians have built an industry of incitement.”

Danon explained to the council members that “the family of the terrorist from the Maxim restaurant has earned tens of thousands of dollars in payments for her crime. Her two accomplices have earned over half a million dollars in terror payments from the PA.”

“Oran is here with us today. He is a true hero and a true model for the appreciation of life, while the PA pays the salaries of convicted murderers. How many more innocents will be murdered? How many thousands of dollars will the Salomons’ killer be rewarded before the world acts?” Danon demanded.

The al-Abed family is expected to receive a monthly lifetime salary of $3,120, Liel Leibovitz reported Sunday in Tablet Magazine. This sum is typically given to terrorists sentenced to 30 years or more in prison.

StandWithUs, an international, non-profit Israel education organization, helped to organize Oran’s visit to the UN.

Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO of StandWithUs, commented, “It is clear that payments to terrorists incentivize them and contribute to a dangerous cycle of violence such as the recent massacre of three members of the Salomon family. The international community cannot ignore the fact that its funding continues to be used to promote hate and violence to the Palestinian people, especially its youth. It is high time that this be stopped.”

By: Max Gelber, United with Israel