Palestinian former prisoners released in recent prisoner exchanges and exiled to Egypt have accused the Palestinian Authority of betrayal and abandonment, demanding the reinstatement of their stipends, which were slashed under Israeli and US pressure.
Two former prisoners who spoke to Al Manassa said they were among a group of Fatah-affiliated detainees who met Wednesday at a coastal resort in Egypt’s Suez governorate. They have been effectively confined since their release under the post-October 8th ceasefire arrangements.
The group denounced Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision to halt monthly allowances to prisoners and the families of martyrs.
In February, Abbas signed a decree—reportedly under Israeli coercion—rescinding financial benefits previously guaranteed by Palestinian law for prisoners, martyrs, and the wounded.
The decree transferred management of the program from the Ministry of Social Development to the Palestinian National Economic Empowerment Institution (Tamkeen), significantly restricting its scope and accessibility.
On Nov. 16, Abbas escalated the cutbacks with a second order suspending all stipends for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, rerouting eligible cases to Tamkeen for limited financial support. The move has provoked fury and despair among released prisoners and their families.
“We haven’t received anything this month. This is not charity, this is a legal right,” said one former prisoner, who requested anonymity. He added that the former prisoners had agreed to demand a full reversal of the PA's decision and called for secure, permanent residency solutions, whether in Egypt or elsewhere.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) established the Martyrs and Prisoners Fund in 1966 to support the families of Palestinians killed, imprisoned, or injured in the struggle for national liberation. Article 22 of the 2003 amended Palestinian Basic Law guarantees social, educational, and healthcare support for prisoners and their families.
Israel has consistently condemned the stipend program, claiming it incentivizes attacks on Israeli targets. In retaliation, it has withheld large portions of tax revenues collected on behalf of the PA. The US has amplified these demands. In 2018, Congress passed the Taylor Force Act, conditioning US aid on the termination of prisoner stipends.
That same year, Congress also passed legislation allowing US citizens impacted by Palestinian attacks to sue the PA in American courts, alleging material support for terrorism.
“We know the PA is under pressure,” said a second former prisoner. “But capitulating to those demands is unforgivable. We are victims of Israeli occupation and its ongoing crimes.”
Despite Egypt’s logistical support, former prisoners described their living conditions as dehumanizing and isolating. “With respect to our Egyptian brothers, we are prisoners in all but name,” revealed one to Al Manassa. “I’ve been allowed outside the hotel only once.”
The group of former prisoners also urged the PA to demand that Israel allow their families to reunite with them in exile. “More than 100 families are desperate to join us. Israel is blocking and threatening them,” said the second released prisoner.
Roughly 190 Fatah-affiliated released prisoners have been forcibly relocated to Egypt as part of the October 2025 ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel. They are among 383 Palestinian prisoners sent to Egypt under the same deal.
Earlier this month, Egyptian authorities moved the released prisoners a second time, from their initial location in the New Administrative Capital to a new and remote resort city in Suez, following a sensationalist and factually inaccurate report in the UK’s Daily Mail. The outlet falsely claimed that “150 dangerous terrorists” were being housed alongside “unsuspecting Western tourists.”
