Always nice to see a straight talking politician who sticks to his guns, however:
On the day that a Hamas leader in Cairo said recognizing Israel "was a mistake" that "must be corrected," Palestinian Authority Acting Finance Minister Jihad Wazir said that if Hamas did not change its ideology the PA would collapse for lack of funds.
"If Hamas doesn't make adjustments to be part of the peace process, it can't run the PA, and the PA won't operate," Wazir told The Jerusalem Post while sitting at the paper-stacked desk in his office near Ramallah.
....The PA needs $116 million a month to pay salaries of 137,000 workers, civil servants and security forces. That does not include payments to vendors for supplies and services, nor does it include the monthly social security payments to the nation's poorest.
What makes the situation even more interesting is that the PA needs the $116 million to cover the EXISTING "workers", and I use the term loosely. All of those workers are members of Fatah, however. So how do the Hamas boys get their piece of the action? Hiring them too will raise costs considerably. Actually cutting costs, by, say, firing all those do-nothing Fatah workers, will raise the friction level considerably more.
An interesting conundrum for our honest friends at Hamas.
Meantime, Hamas seems to be radiating confidence that they will get their money without compromising their principles. Is Iran really pledging so much, I wonder? Israel has agreed to make the current $50 million tax transfer, but says it is a one-time deal unless Hamas agrees to uphold the signed accords. It also gives Israel time to get through the elections before making a decision.
Fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. |
