Israel Matzav

'Palestinian Authority' pays Hamas salaries again

Israel Radio reported on the 12:00 news - just a few minutes ago - that the 'Palestinian Authority' in Ramallah transferred NIS 1,000,000 (a bit more than $250,000) to the Gaza bank accounts of some three hundred Hamas terrorists this week. The terrorists also serve in various 'government' positions in Gaza. One, a senior commander in Izadeem el-Kassam - Hamas' 'armed wing' - also serves as the director general of a 'government' office in Gaza. The amounts transferred represented three months' salary.

What's 'worse' is that Fatah's own people in Gaza were not paid. Israel Radio described Hamas terrorists walking out of banks with "wads of cash" and "waving them in the faces" of their Fatah counterparts.

Israel Radio attributed the mistaken payment to 'negligence' and' clerical error.' It's only been three months since the last time that happened. And they transferred three months' salary. What a coincidence!

As some of you may recall, Salam Fayyad (pictured, top left) was originally appointed finance minister by 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen in 2002. Fayyad, a former employee of the World Bank, was the 'quartet's choice for the position, since they believed they could trust him to make sure that Western aid money would not go to terrorists. When the unity government broke apart, and Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, Abu Mazen named Fayyad 'Prime Minister' as well (in place of Hamas' Ismail Haniyeh), a move that pleased the West.

It should be obvious that the 'quartet's trust in Fayyad is grossly misplaced.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:30 PM