MIDEAST: Palestinian efforts to secure international aid continue/ thousands of Hamas supporters take to streets in support/ funeral procession of militant killed by Israelis/anti-barrier denmonstration turns violent

Record ID: 836630

  • Title: MIDEAST: Palestinian efforts to secure international aid continue/ thousands of Hamas supporters take to streets in support/ funeral procession of militant killed by Israelis/anti-barrier denmonstration turns violent
  • Date: 13th May 2006
  • Summary: WIDE OF AL-ZAHAR AND POGODIN WALKING TOWARDS JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAHMOUD AL-ZAHAR, PALESTINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYING: "This mechanism is satisfying a certain "slice" in the Palestinian, or at least a certain class of the Palestinian society but it is not acceptable on the financial support of the Palestinian people. If they are concerning (concerned) about the humanitarian effect, I think that the salary of the doctors, the salary of the teacher, salary of the prisoner is a material side." (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ALEXEI POGODIN, HEAD OF RUSSIAN DELEGATION TO THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY, SAYING: "We discussed with each other the siege on the Palestinian people and as you know, Russia will donate 10 million dollars to the Palestinians for education and health." AL-ZAHAR AND BOUDIN SHAKING HANDS BEHIND MICROPHONES
  • Embargoed: 28th May 2006 13:00
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  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA8F6ZOTK3JUV1E7OF7BG57CKA5
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  • Story Text: A cash liquidity crunch is threatening to worsen an economic crisis that begun after Western countries froze financial aid after the Islamic militant group Hamas came to power in March.
    The Palestinian Authority has been unable to pay salaries to 165,000 civil servants since March, prompting concerns of a humanitarian crisis that could trigger an upsurge of Middle East violence.
    Separately, fuelling the economic crisis, petrol stations in the West Bank are running out of fuel after their Israeli supplier cut off deliveries over the Palestinian government's failure to pay bills, a Palestinian official said on Wednesday.
    Mujahed Salameh, director general of the Palestinian Petroleum Agency, said the government does not hold fuel reserves. He estimated that supplies of petrol and cooking gas would run out within 24 hours.
    The few West Bank petrol stations that still had fuel were rationing it, selling a maximum of 100 shekels' ($23) worth of gasoline per car.
    Riad al-Hayek, an owner of a Gasoline station in Bethlehem, told Reuters that his solar fuel was sold out and that he was planing to shut down his station later on Wednesday when it runs out of petrol.
    "We have a bit of fuel. Today people will buy it all so later on we will close the Gasoline station," said al-Hayek.
    Preparing for a shortage, Palestinians filled up bottles with petrol and carried them away. One of the clients blamed Israel for the crisis and suggested to return to donkey riding.
    "We will ride donkeys, what shall we do? This is the occupation, this is the occupation and how they deal with us," said Mufeed abu-Sa'ada from Beit Sahour.
    Israel's army radio reported Dor Alon <DRAL.TA>, the sole supplier of gasoline and cooking gas to the Palestinian Authority, had cut supplies over an outstanding 120 million shekel ($27 million) bill. Dor Alon had no immediate comment.
    The crisis was triggered by the freezing of international aid to the Hamas leadership.
    Elsewhere, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Workers from the Palestinian Finance Ministry struggled to remain motivated to return to work each day, not having been paid since March due to a severe financial crisis which has hit the new Hamas-led Palestinian government.
    The workers staged a demonstration last week demanding money, saying they could not even afford to send their children to kindergarten due to the financial strain.
    On Wednesday (May 10) the employees said the situation is deteriorating and called on the Palestinian Authority to help alleviate the crisis.
    "We live in a difficult situation...and we ,as employees, care about the salaries, because it concerns our daily life," said Mohammed Hamdan, a Palestinian Finance Ministry employee.
    In the city of Nablus school teachers took to the streets staging a strike over their unpaid salaries.
    The protesters waved anti-government banners aimed at Hamas, some reading - ''no for hunger and no for kneeling' and 'let America hear our voices, we will not surrender and will pursue our rights and bread for our children'.
    The strike was not the only one by unpaid employees in the West Bank. Workers from a branch of the Palestinian interior ministry also stayed out of work on Wednesday in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
    On Tuesday (May 9) major Middle East peace brokers announced a plan to channel aid directly to the Palestinians, a move that could ease the intense economic pressure on the Hamas-led government.
    The Quartet of international mediators -- the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations -- decided on Tuesday to set up the new mechanism, which would send aid directly to the Palestinians for a three-month trial period.
    The move suggested the United States, which has taken a tough stand against Hamas, an Islamic militant group, had bowed to pressure from the other Quartet members who feared that without an aid deal the Palestinian Authority could collapse.
    Israel had pushed hard and successfully for financial assistance to the Palestinians to be severed after the Hamas-led administration took power in March, but insisted it would not block humanitarian aid.
    "The government of Israel fully supports the beefing up of humanitarian support for the Palestinian people, the Palestinian people are not our enemy, our problem is with the extremist Hamas government and we will support efforts in the international community mechanisms to directly support the Palestinian people by bypassing this Hamas government," Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mark Regev told Reuters Television.
    Israel is currently withholding around $55 million (US Dollars) a month in tax receipts it collects on the Palestinians' behalf and has frequently closed the main commercial goods terminal on its border with Gaza, citing security concerns.
    The details of the Quartet's new mechanism have not been worked out, but it is expected that salaries to the Palestinian Authority's 165,000 employees overdue since March, would now be paid. The monthly wage bill totals around $150 million (US Dollars).
    The decision would appear to reflect a view held by U.N. officials that payment of salaries amounts to humanitarian support for the largely impoverished Palestinian population. Humanitarian support was never intended to be cut off.
    The Quartet agreed to channel aid through what it termed an international mechanism amid warnings by Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia of civil war if the Palestinian Authority was left to collapse because of lack of finance.
    Diplomats said one option to channel payments could be to use the World Bank or another financial institution through the Palestinian president's office.
    Local, regional and international banks stopped dealing with the Palestinian Authority because they feared sanctions by the United States, which considers Hamas a terrorist organisation.
    On Wednesday Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Al-Zahar urged the international community to funnel financial support through the Palestinian Authority offices.
    "We appreciate every effort in order to help the Palestinian people by the legal channels, by the ordinary channels and the legal channel is the Palestinian Authority, whether the presidency or the government," Al-Zahar said.
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