Last update - 00:00 26/10/2006
PA official: Hamas interior minister brought $2 million into Gaza
By The Associated Press
Hamas' interior minister brought $2 million into the Gaza Strip in a new effort by the ruling Islamic militant group to flout international sanctions, a Palestinian official said Thursday.
The official said the Hamas-led government would use the money to make one-time $50 payments to 20,000 members of Palestinian security forces by the end of the week.
A European Union official said Palestinian Interior Minister Saeed Seyam personally carried the money into Gaza last week, but said there was little the EU monitors at the Gaza-Egypt border crossing could do. The monitors observe the crossing under an Israeli-Palestinian agreement reached last year.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Hamas ministers, using their VIP status, have brought more than $20 million into Gaza in recent months, despite international sanctions against the group.
The United States, the European Union and Israel slapped debilitating sanctions on the Hamas-led government when it came to power in March.
The sanctions have crippled the government, making it largely unable to pay salaries to its 165,000 employees. The efforts by Hamas to bring cash into Gaza have enabled the government to make small payments periodically, but have done little to ease widespread hardship.
The international community has said it will not lift the sanctions unless Hamas recognizes Israel, accepts past peace deals and renounces violence, conditions Hamas has rejected.
Seyam registered the money with officials at the Gaza-Egypt crossing as is required by law, Maher Ramli, the minister's assistant, said. He refused to elaborate on the money's origin.
"It was donations from Arab and Islamic countries. It wasn't from one place," Ramli said.
Half the money will be used to pay salaries, and the other half will be used to cover some of the ministry's debts, Ramli added.
A Hamas-affiliated Web site on Wednesday said the government will make $50 payments to 20,000 state employees, including members of the Hamas militia and firefighters.
Hamas formed its own security force after coming to power because most of the myriad official branches are controlled by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who was elected separately. Abbas' long-ruling Fatah Party was ousted by Hamas in a January parliamentary election.
The Hamas militia's presence on the streets of Gaza has increased tensions, and gun battles have erupted between the militia and the Fatah-led security forces.