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| By: Associated Press |
| Published: June 4, 2006 |
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The Palestinians' Hamas-led government will deposit one month's pay on Monday into the bank accounts of 40,000 low-paid civil servants who haven't received salaries since February, Finance Minister Omar Abdel Razek said Saturday.
Abdel Razak contradicted Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, who said Friday that 40,000 government employees who receive up to $330 a month would received some of their overdue wages this weekend, and that the remaining 125,000 would receive advances.
The advances will be paid later, Abdel Razak told a news conference in the West Bank town of Ramallah, because the government doesn't have money to pay them now.
Crippling international economic sanctions over Hamas' refusal to disarm and recognize Israel have rendered the Palestinian government unable to pay salaries since it took power in March. The three months of unpaid wages have fueled friction in Palestinian territories and threatened the stability of the new Hamas government, because the salaries provide for about one-third of the people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In the West Bank town of Nablus on Saturday, some 1,500 to 2,000 civil servants, including 400 armed police officers, protested the unpaid salaries.
Some fired in the air and chanted anti-Hamas slogans. Others carried pictures of the moderate Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah party, and of longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Abdel Razek said the money would be transferred to the employees' bank accounts, with the exception of those who bank at The Arab Bank. That bank is under pressure from the U.S. to halt its dealings with the Hamas government, which Washington considers to be run by terrorists. Its customers will be able to collect their salaries at special post office accounts, Abdel Razak said.
In all, the Palestinian Authority plans to pay out some $13 million on Monday, and an additional $48 million in advances once more money from revenues and private donations come in, Abdel Razek said.
Haniyeh said Friday that tax revenues and "good financial management" have allowed the government to come up with the cash to pay some of the overdue wages.
Arab states have pledged tens of millions of dollars to help the Palestinian government cover its $160 million tab for monthly payroll and operating costs. But Arab banks have refused to transfer the money for fear of violating U.S. anti-terror laws. |
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