AID MONEY GOES TO PAY HAMAS LEADER

P.A. pays Haniyeh (JTA)
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was among those whose salaries were paid this month by the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinian Authority began paying government salaries for the first time in 15 months, and while 19,000 rank-and-file Hamas members were excluded from the payments, Hamas parliamentarians received their salaries, Israel Radio reported.

The payments were made possible by the end of the Western-led boycott of the Hamas-ruled Palestinian Authority following the dissolution of the Hamas-led government and the appointment of a new Fatah-led government last month.

Haniyeh, the elected P.A. prime minister, was unilaterally dismissed last month by President Mahmoud Abbas following Hamas’ violent takeover of the Gaza Strip. Haniyeh condemned the decision to exclude Hamas-appointed employees from those being paid, saying it violated “the minimal rights of Palestinian citizens.”