The American newspaper Politico reported, citing American officials, that Washington is close to reaching an agreement with the Palestinian Authority to stop martyrdom allowances “for people who commit acts of violence against Israel.”

According to the newspaper, “This would be a major win for the multi-faceted American push to reform the Palestinian Authority - from establishing anti-corruption measures to improving basic services - so that it can take over governance of the Gaza Strip when the war between Israel and Hamas ends.”

The Biden administration considers the Palestinian Authority, which oversees parts of the West Bank, the best option to govern Gaza in the future, but the Palestinian Authority is hated by many Palestinians, as well as Israelis and Arab leaders, who consider it corrupt, ineffective, and out of touch with reality.

The “Allocations for Martyrs and Wounded” program supports Palestinians and their families financially in the event that they are injured, imprisoned, or killed by Israeli forces. The move has long angered Israelis, who say it "incentivizes terrorism and calls it pay to kill," and many Palestinians say it "provides crucial support to people standing up to Israel's oppressive occupation."

Draft plans to reform payments to the Palestinian Authority seen by US officials indicate that Palestinian leaders will replace the current scheme with a public welfare program.

A senior US administration official said: “There has been a great deal of work on this matter behind the scenes, and progress is encouraging.” Another official confirmed that changes to the system are expected soon. However, the emergence of obstacles is not excluded.

Politico also indicated that although Abbas rejected, at the beginning of the war on Gaza, the idea of the Palestinian Authority ruling the Strip after the end of military operations, he seems more open to the idea now.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the Palestinian Authority's role in Gaza, despite the US insistence that no other institution can do the job if Israel does not want to occupy the Strip.

Netanyahu has often said that the Palestinian Authority is not much different from Hamas, and that it promotes hatred against Israelis. But Netanyahu's political future is ambiguous given Israeli anger over the security failure that allowed Hamas fighters to attack Israel on October 7, 2023.