HAMAS IS CASH-STRAPPED

Fatah Legacy Puts Hamas Under Financial Pressure - Donald Macintyre
The Hamas-led PA is deciding whether to confirm the recruitment of 18,000 security service personnel enacted in the three months before it took office. Hamas must choose between adding to the PA's already soaring deficit or a confrontation with the new recruits, many of whom are members of Fatah-linked armed groups. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday that the PA Ministry of Finance had "inherited an entirely empty treasury." The swelling of the security service payroll to 90,000 was one of the factors which led to the resignation of the previous finance minister, Salaam Fayad. (Independent-UK)

See also Cash-Strapped Hamas Struggles to Find a Bank - Adam Entous
The new Hamas-led Palestinian government is struggling to find a bank willing to handle its finances, casting doubt on whether it can pay staff or receive foreign aid, Western diplomats and Palestinian officials said. (Reuters)