Hamas: 30,000 PA employees did not receive their salaries due to "racist discrimination"

Palestinians waiting to receive their salaries (MaanImages)

5 July 2007

Gaza - Ma'an - The Hamas movement has called on all civil servants who did not receive salaries yesterday "to show patience and faith."

The movement also slammed the Palestinian emergency government headed by Salam Fayyad for depriving thousands of employees of their salaries.

"Those who deprive the people of its bread will lose in the end," Hamas warned in a statement.

According to Hamas' statement, the total number of employees who did not receive salaries on Wednesday is 30,000; these people provide for approximately 192,000 Palestinian citizens, the statement continued.

In total, there are an estimated 165,000 Palestinian civil servants on the payroll of the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas also accused the prime minister of the emergency government of "racist discrimination."

"The racist discrimination by the Fayyad government is illegal," the statement read, "and these are irresponsible decisions which must be halted as the money they have belongs to the whole Palestinian people."