PA Pays Hamas Military Personnel

JERUSALEM [MENL] -- The Palestinian Authority, nearly two years after its
ouster from the Gaza Strip, has been financing Hamas's military.
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs asserted that the PA pays the
salaries of up to 12,000 Hamas military and security personnel. The report,
authored by Dan Diker and Khaled Abu Toameh, said the Hamas salaries were
being paid by order of PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
"It is widely believed that the PA in Ramallah only pays the salaries of
civil service employees in Gaza to encourage them to stay at home to avoid
working with Hamas," the report said. "However, PA Prime Minister Fayyad
also pays the monthly salaries of between 6,000 and 12,000 Hamas Executive
Force operatives in Gaza, in line with the 2007 Mecca national unity
agreement."