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Mushir Al-Masri was briefly detained Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2006 when he was found to be carrying $2 million in a suitcase as he tried to return to Gaza from Egypt (AP)
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| By Associated Press November 15, 2006 |
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Two Hamas legislators crossed into Gaza from Egypt Wednesday carrying $4.2 million in their luggage, and one explained that the Arab decision to lift a crippling financial blockade on the Hamas-run government is not yet in effect.
Legislator Mushir al-Masri, who brought $2 million in his luggage, said the funds would be registered with the Palestinian Finance Ministry. Another Hamas lawmaker, Ahmed Bahr, the deputy parliament speaker, came in with $2.2 million.
The hand-carried cash infusion showed how desperate the Palestinian Authority's money situation is. Since the militant Islamic Hamas formed a government in March after sweeping a parliamentary election, Western donors have refused to transfer aid, bankrupting the government.
Reacting to an Israeli shelling in Gaza last week that killed 19 civilians, the Arab League voted to lift the boycott and resume transferring funds to the Palestinians. But the decision was seen in Gaza and the West Bank as mostly symbolic, since Arab nations have long pledged large amounts of money but rarely pay up in full.
Also, Arab commercial banks have been hesitant to handle funds for the Palestinian government for fear of being blacklisted by the U.S. and Europe, which regard Hamas as a terror organization.
Al-Masri was stopped and questioned Tuesday after the money was found in his luggage, Egyptian security officials said.
Al-Masri spent the night on the Egyptian side of the border. He said an agreement was reached to register the money with the Palestinian Finance Ministry and let it through.
"I entered and the money is in my possession ... because the mechanism related to the Arab (League) decision to bring the money through banks has not yet been completed," al-Masri said after crossing into Gaza.
Al-Masri said the money came from donations to the Palestinians. Egyptian security officials said the money was collected in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
The West insists that before it restores its aid, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars a year, Hamas must recognize Israel, renounce violence and honor past peace agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. Hamas has refused to do that, though efforts are being made to install a new Cabinet and turn peacemaking functions over to moderate President Mahmoud Abbas as a way of finessing the demands.
The aid cutoff has crippled the government, making it largely unable to pay salaries to its 165,000 employees. Several other Palestinian officials have returned home carrying large amounts of cash. Last month, Palestinian Interior Minister Said Siyam was permitted to cross the Egypt-Gaza border with $2 million.
Palestinian regulations at the crossing allow for money to be transferred through the border as long as it is declared.
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