PA cuts salaries to released Hamas terrorists at U.S. request
Headline: “The PA has stopped the salaries of released prisoners from Hamas in Gaza”
“The PA has stopped the payment of the salaries (rawatib) of a number of released prisoners who hold positions of leadership in the Hamas movement, including Director of the movement’s Political Bureau in the Gaza Strip Yahya Al-Sinwar.
Released prisoners in Gaza said that they were surprised yesterday [June 4, 2017] when they went to the banks to receive their salaries [and discovered] that they were not transferred by the [PA] Ministry of Finance in Ramallah. Hamas sources in Gaza noted that 277 released prisoners did not receive their salaries at the beginning of the month as is customary. The Ministry of Finance in Ramallah did not deny or confirm the news item, but sources in the [PA] government estimated that the stopping of these released prisoners’ salaries is part of a series of steps that the PA has decided to take in Gaza in order to press Hamas to hand over the rule of the Gaza Strip to the [PA] government. Knowledgeable sources also told the [independent Palestinian news] agency Sama that the stopping of the salaries was done in response to an American and Israeli request, and that this is only the first group, which additional groups will join later on.”
“The PA has stopped the payment of the salaries (rawatib) of a number of released prisoners who hold positions of leadership in the Hamas movement, including Director of the movement’s Political Bureau in the Gaza Strip Yahya Al-Sinwar.
Released prisoners in Gaza said that they were surprised yesterday [June 4, 2017] when they went to the banks to receive their salaries [and discovered] that they were not transferred by the [PA] Ministry of Finance in Ramallah. Hamas sources in Gaza noted that 277 released prisoners did not receive their salaries at the beginning of the month as is customary. The Ministry of Finance in Ramallah did not deny or confirm the news item, but sources in the [PA] government estimated that the stopping of these released prisoners’ salaries is part of a series of steps that the PA has decided to take in Gaza in order to press Hamas to hand over the rule of the Gaza Strip to the [PA] government. Knowledgeable sources also told the [independent Palestinian news] agency Sama that the stopping of the salaries was done in response to an American and Israeli request, and that this is only the first group, which additional groups will join later on.”