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PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas addressing a cabinet meeting in Ramallah on Thursday. (AP)
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Last update - 14:43 30/07/2007
Hamas to begin paying salaries of civil servants in Gaza Strip
By Haaretz Staff and Agencies

In an act of defiance against Fatah, Hamas on Saturday said it will begin paying salaries of civil servants in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas said it will pay over 10,000 civil servants who were cut from the payroll of the rival West Bank-based administration because of their loyalty to Hamas, a union official said.

In all, the Palestinian Authority employs about 165,000 people, half of them members of the security forces. After the fall of Gaza to Hamas, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayad ordered civil servants in Gaza not to cooperate with Hamas.

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Those who ignored the order or were hired by Hamas in the past year did not receive salaries in July. Among them were thousands of members of the Executive Force, a Hamas militia now policing Gaza.

Ala al-Batta, head of a Hamas-run civil servants' union in Gaza, told a local news radio Saturday that more than 10,000 government workers have begun receiving their salaries from Hamas.

The salaries of civil servants provide for about one-third of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

New PA platform omits 'armed struggle'

The Palestinian Authority government published its platform on Friday, which for the first time does not include a reference to armed struggle against Israel.

Nonetheless, the government stressed that it is committed to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' call for a "popular struggle against the Israeli occupation."

The Arabic word Muqawma, which literally means resistance and has appeared in all prior PA governments' platform, is generally understood to mean armed struggle. The term "popular struggle" is generally understood to include, among other things, demonstrations and political activism.

According to the platform, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad's government will seek to establish a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 boundaries with Jerusalem as its capital, as well as a just and agreed solution to the Palestinian refugee problem on the basis of United Nations resolutions.
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  1.   about time! 12:07  |  bashar 27/07/07
  2.   They should be openly praised by Israeli/World officials 12:17  |  Dan 27/07/07
  3.   1.Bashar,dream on! Since when have these third ways been 12:41  |  lakshmi 27/07/07
  4.   Politics, Schmolotics...Learn . 12:53  |  simcha 27/07/07
  5.   I hope it is clear to the leadership of the PA, 12:58  |  Dubi 27/07/07
  6.   what a joke!!!! 13:09  |  yonni ezra 27/07/07
  7.   Palestinian out-of-control breeding will destroy Israel 13:12  |  Bo 27/07/07
  8.   Olmert and Abbas should keep on working together 13:21  |  Davide 27/07/07
  9.   to no 4 Dubi 13:22  |  GreekMan 27/07/07
  10.   Words or deeds???? 13:22  |  Simon Jenkins 27/07/07
  11.   #3 Luckless laksmi definitely NOT flavor of the year... 13:28  |  Aryani 27/07/07
  12.   There`s a good little Uncle Tom 13:29  |  Clickfool 27/07/07
  13.   Usual Double-Talk---No Real Change 13:32  |  Ben Israel 27/07/07
  14.   ...What , me worry ? 13:44  |  simcha 27/07/07
  15.   Why Get By Dying What You Can Get By Talking? 13:53  |  Dyinglikeflies 27/07/07
  16.   3: Lakshmi continues to support jihad 14:03  |  David Teich 27/07/07
  17.   #3 lakshmi - you are dissing the people you claim to care 14:10  |  CK Tan 27/07/07
  18.   #5 14:17  |  Joe 27/07/07
  19.   Armed struggle excluded from PA government platform for first tim 14:25  |  de Jong 27/07/07
  20.   More good news......tentatively...... 14:32  |  Esther 27/07/07
  21.   Clickfool`s panic 14:34  |  Hannah 27/07/07
  22.   David Teich 14:38  |  Hannah 27/07/07
  23.   Negotiation nonsense 14:40  |  RightClick 27/07/07
  24.   Response for Bo #6, about equalizing...... 14:45  |  Esther 27/07/07
  25.   Lakshmi (second attempt, as always) 14:47  |  Nik `Censor` Miller 27/07/07
  26.   #3 lakshmi - you are dissing the people you claim to care 14:50  |  CK Tan 27/07/07
  27.   to no 8 GreekMan 14:53  |  Dubi 27/07/07
  28.   and the 1000 rifles are for ?? shooting gallery 15:41  |  victor hardman 27/07/07
  29.   #5 - Israel a Hebrew Nation ??? 15:42  |  Double Click 27/07/07
  30.   Abbas platform known as Doggie Style position 15:46  |  Tim 27/07/07
  31.   That`s funny, I thought that happened with the "handshake". 15:48  |  Cynic 27/07/07
  32.   28Double Click,well said and truly,this is all about land grab 15:55  |  lakshmi 27/07/07
  33.   BASHAR - PEACE IS ALWAYS A STRUGGLE 15:55  |  Stephen Connor 27/07/07
  34.   Jerusalem as Palestinian capital will never happen 15:57  |  Netanel 27/07/07
  35.   Islamic taqiyya - Deception 16:00  |  Linda Rivera 27/07/07
  36.   to # 3 lakshmi 16:01  |  Igor D. 27/07/07
  37.   Right Click - unrealistic 16:04  |  Stephen Connor 27/07/07
  38.   Palestinians Like rabbitts 16:06  |  Mike 27/07/07
  39.   Tim # 29 16:11  |  ChanahS 27/07/07
  40.   Dubi 16:14  |  Stephen Connor 27/07/07
  41.   #32i am truly comforted by mr connors post 16:17  |  victor hardman 27/07/07
  42.   Yonni Ezra 16:19  |  Stephen Connor 27/07/07
  43.   # 23 Esther - Overpopulation is war 16:20  |  Bo 27/07/07
  44.   #11 Clickfool - wrong again 16:22  |  Peter 27/07/07
  45.   Igor D - youre a star!!! 16:24  |  Shlomi 27/07/07
  46.   Netanel!! Love you!!! 16:28  |  Shlomi 27/07/07
  47.   The fight goes on 16:29  |  guy 27/07/07
  48.   #28 not just a fool, but the village idiot as well 16:51  |  pace306 27/07/07
  49.   Dan 16:51  |  Reader 27/07/07
  50.   #11 Clickfool 16:53  |  Josh Korn 27/07/07
  51.   Jerusalem Must Become the Capital of both Nations 16:53  |  There 27/07/07
  52.   Bo from Vara 16:56  |  Stephen Connor 27/07/07
  53.   Two groups of posters 16:57  |  Polybios 27/07/07
  54.   Value of Resistance 17:03  |  john 27/07/07
  55.   For Peter in Toronto # 43 17:07  |  Clickfool 27/07/07
  56.   Linda R. I don`t think it`s taqiyya this time... 17:10  |  Polybios 27/07/07
  57.   Jews must be the 17:15  |  Simcha 27/07/07
  58.   You`re full of it, guy 17:20  |  Polybios 27/07/07
  59.   To #8 GreekMan & Dubi 17:25  |  I agree with you. 27/07/07
  60.   The Spanish,Greeks , ItaliansGermans Missed Them The First Time 17:28  |  simcha 27/07/07
  61.   To # 39 Stephen Connor 17:28  |  And you think this 27/07/07
  62.   A Small Positive Step In the Right Direction 17:31  |  Jeff Northridge 27/07/07
  63.   What Abbas needs to do 17:35  |  Kipperraes 27/07/07
  64.   Peter 17:38  |  Mr 27/07/07
  65.   Re Bo #42....alas..... 17:44  |  Esther 27/07/07
  66.   Amazing! 17:46  |  Gina 27/07/07
  67.   Which way is better? 17:49  |  Tosefta 27/07/07
  68.   Clickfool 17:56  |  Gina 27/07/07
  69.   whinging peanuts 17:57  |  frenz 27/07/07
  70.   Tim -- painful, isn`t it? 18:00  |  Gina 27/07/07
  71.   Pick One, but make sure to pick one and stick with 18:02  |  Simon Mohammed 27/07/07
  72.   #11 Clickfool - A Palestinian state is a child-hood dream 18:11  |  Bo 27/07/07
  73.   #46 Guy - Great fantasies 18:16  |  Bo 27/07/07
  74.   #49 Mr - I know what you mean! 18:24  |  Bo 27/07/07
  75.   Lakshmi 18:24  |  Brad 27/07/07
  76.   To Linda Rivera 18:28  |  Connie 27/07/07
  77.   guy # 46 Resistence 18:30  |  Jeff Northridge 27/07/07
  78.   To Polybios 18:31  |  Connie 27/07/07
  79.   #50 Esther - Got your point 18:33  |  Bo 27/07/07
  80.   Could this war be winding down? 18:41  |  B 27/07/07
  81.   For Clickfool #47 18:53  |  Peter 27/07/07
  82.   59Tosefta,an armed struggle with a ceasefire is the only option. 18:57  |