President Mahmoud Abbas faced criticism from allies and foes alike on Tuesday over a decree overhauling payments to families of Palestinians killed or jailed by Israel, a move to satisfy a U.S. demand that will likely deepen his unpopularity.

The United States and Israel have long condemned the payment of stipends to families of Palestinian prisoners involved in attacks on Israel.

The Palestinian Authority will no longer pay stipends to the families of convicted terrorists and other prisoners, in a gesture to President Donald Trump. The longstanding program determined the size of the stipend based on the length of a prisoner’s sentence,

President Mahmoud Abbas faces criticism after issuing a decree to overhaul payments to families of Palestinians killed or jailed by Israel. The move aims to appease a longstanding U.S. demand, but risks further unpopularity.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has issued a decree overturning a system of payments to the families of Palestinians imprisoned or killed by Israeli forces that has been a longstanding source of friction with the United States.

The payouts were long denounced by Israel, which says the system incentivises terrorism. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The system — referred to as "pay for slay" by the first Trump administration and the Israeli government — was a major point of friction between the U.S. and the Palestinian Authority. The U.S. and Israel have argued for years that the system incentivized attacks on Israelis,