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Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh, Thursday. (AP)
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Khaled Abu Arafa, minister of Jerusalem affairs in the Hamas government, right, stands next to an Israeli border police officer after he was detained, Thursday. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners April 6, 2006 |
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Israeli border police briefly detained a Cabinet minister from Hamas on Thursday, the first time Israel took into custody a member of the Hamas government since the Islamic militants took power last week.
Khaled Abu Arafa, minister of Jerusalem affairs, was detained along with his bodyguard when he was on his way to Izzariya, a West Bank suburb of Jerusalem. Abu Arafa, who lives in Jerusalem, was to take possession of furniture and office equipment from his predecessor, Ziad Abu Zayyad, a moderate.
Abu Arafa was detained because he is barred from entering the West Bank for security reasons, the army said. He was not interrogated because his intentions were clear, the army added.
Israel refuses to have any ties with the new Hamas-led government unless it recognizes Israel, accepts past Israeli-Palestinian peace deals and renounces violence.
Hamas, sworn to Israel's destruction, has refused to accept the demands, which are backed by the international community.
Abu Arafa, a Jerusalem resident born in 1961, has been detained several times by Israel in the past.
Haniyeh: Government coffers are empty
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday said his new Hamas government is broke and may not be able to pay tens of thousands of public workers this month - the Islamic militants' first admission that they will have difficulty running Judea, Samaria and Gaza without massive foreign aid.
Haniyeh offered no solutions to the cash crunch, pledging only to do his best to resolve the crisis and appealing to the Arab world to give more aid to the Palestinians.
The Palestinian Authority is the largest employer in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, providing salaries for 140,000 people and sustaining about one-third of the Palestinians. Monthly salaries, due on April 1, have not been paid, and Haniyeh said it remains unclear how the government will meet its payroll.
"The Palestinian Finance Ministry has received an entirely empty treasury in addition to the debt of the government in general," Haniyeh told the first meeting of his Cabinet.
"We are going to do our utmost as a government to pay the salaries of the Palestinian Authority employees despite the cash crisis that we are facing," he said.
In a symbolic step, Haniyeh said the Cabinet members would not be paid until the financial crisis is solved. "We are not going to receive our salaries until everyone from the Palestinian Authority is paid," he said.
Haniyeh's Cabinet, sworn into office just a week ago, needs to find ways to make up for tens of millions of dollars in foreign aid that Western donors are threatening to withhold.
Israel also has frozen the transfer of tens of millions of dollars in tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinians since shortly after Hamas' January election victory.
The U.S. and Canada have already announced they are severing ties with the new government, and the European Union is to decide on its aid program next week.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told the European Parliament on Wednesday that until Hamas renounces violence and recognizes Israel, "talking about business as usual simply isn't possible."
Hamas leaders have rejected calls to moderate, and until recently claimed they would be able to cover any shortfall with help from Arab and Muslim countries.
However, Haniyeh conceded Wednesday that Arab pledges are insufficient, and his ministers would soon embark on a tour of the Arab world to drum up more support. The Arab League last week resolved to send the Palestinians about $55 million a month, but Arab nations have largely failed to honor such commitments in the past.
Israel has welcomed Western efforts to continue humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, as long as the money does not reach Hamas.
Ron Prosor, director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said Israel has "lots of ideas" on how to continue helping the Palestinian public, but he declined to elaborate. "We will, of course, not talk with Hamas until it implements the three conditions that we talked about," he said.
Hamas has softened its statements since taking power last week, but stopped short of meeting the international community's demands to renounce terror, respect previous Israel-Palestinian agreements and recognize Israel.
In the latest of its mixed messages, Haniyeh said Hamas has "no problem to contact the Israelis to discuss issues related to our people's daily lives." But he ruled out political negotiations, demanding "the recognition of our people's rights."
Haniyeh's troubles have also been complicated by chaos and Palestinian infighting in the West Bank and Gaza.
Hamas and the moderate Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, have been wrangling over control of the security services. Their dispute has focused on control over the National Security force, which is responsible for securing Gaza's border with Israel and preventing militants from firing rockets into Israel.
'Abbas can negotiate with Israel'
Haniyeh decided on Thursday that his government will take control of the Palestinian security forces and that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is free to negotiate with Israel on his own.
Abbas, "as the head of the Palestinian Authority and the PLO, can move on political fronts and negotiate with whomever he wants. What is important is what will be offered to the Palestinian people," Haniyeh said.
Haniyeh also rejected attempts by the international community to wrest authority from his government by giving more responsibility to Abbas.
Despite Haniyeh's claims that Hamas will assume control over the PA's security services, Abbas on Thursday appointed a loyalist to head three security services, widening his authority at the expense of the new Hamas government, Palestinian officials said.
Abbas appointed Rashid Abu Shbak as head of internal security, putting him in control of three services, Preventive Security, police and civil defense. Abu Shbak would technically report to the Hamas-appointed interior minister. However, in the event of a dispute, final authority lies with the National Security Council, headed by Abbas.
AP contributed to this report.
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