Government workers take home pay
Palestinian government employees loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas stood in lines outside banks in Hamas-ruled Gaza to collect their first full salaries in 15 months.
The salary payments were a boost to Abbas in his power struggle with Hamas, which took control of Gaza by force last month. Abbas has since fired the Hamas-led government and said civil servants who sided with the Islamic militants would not be receiving salaries.
In all, about 31,000 of the 164,000 government employees in Gaza and the West Bank will not be paid, said Salam Fayyad, the new prime minister in Abbas’ government.
After Hamas won elections last year, an international aid boycott was imposed. Government employees had received only sporadic, partial payments.
After the Gaza takeover, Western aid and Israeli tax transfers were renewed to Abbas’ West Bank-based Palestinian government.
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