PM: Intl body to pay salaries of Gaza civil servants
Published today (updated) 27/09/2014 18:50
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=730286

NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said Saturday that an
unnamed international body is willing to pay the salaries of civil servants
in Gaza who were employed by the former Hamas-run government in the Strip.

Speaking at a news conference at the office of the Nablus district,
Hamdallah said the national consensus government could not afford to pay the
wages of the thousands of civil servants formerly employed by Hamas.

But an international body has expressed willingness to pay the salaries, and
employees will receive their August wages on Monday, Hamdallah said.

He did not provide further details.

Hamas and Fatah leaders met in Cairo on Wednesday and Thursday in order to
iron out issues preventing the full implementation of a West Bank-Gaza unity
government agreed upon in April.

The rival Palestinian factions said they reached a "comprehensive" agreement
that would lead to the "return" of the unity government in the Strip,
including a solution to the issue of paying former Hamas employees'
salaries.

Since the new government was officially sworn in in June, Hamas has demanded
it take responsibility for paying its 45,000 employees, 27,000 of whom are
civil servants.

But the unity government has been noncommittal, and earlier this month
Hamdallah said he was under pressure from the international community not to
pay Hamas employees' salaries.