On Feb. 10, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas announced a long-promised change to the PA’s “Pay for Slay” policy. Many triumphant headlines declared this as an official end to the reprehensible PA policy of paying stipends to the families of “martyrs” (that is, terrorists) who were either killed, injured, or imprisoned while explicitly carrying out violence against Israel.

This announcement is the latest of President Abbas’ efforts to get the U.S. to drop the Taylor Force Act of 2018, named in honor of a Texan army veteran who was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in 2016. The act prohibited U.S. aid to the PA so long as the Martyr’s Fund existed. It remains to be seen what other concessions the PA will try to use this newfound ‘change in policy’ to exact; it also remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will acquiesce to restoring aid.

The end of the Martyr’s Fund is, of course, a welcome moderating step by the PA – if it can be believed. But based on promises the PA continues to make to recipients of the program, Western powers should remain skeptical that any true reform has taken place.

Of course, the PA is severely limited in the concessions it can provide. The PA does not have any legitimacy from the Palestinian people to carry out even mild reforms. Abbas, now in the 20th year of his four-year term, faces a serious legitimacy crisis in the West Bank after facing no elections since 2005. Polls have repeatedly shown that Hamas would win any elections in the West Bank thanks to the perceived corruption and collaboration of Abbas’ Fatah party.