The Palestinian Authority in Ramallah has cut the salaries of 47 Hamas parliamentary deputies in Judea and Samaria, the Hamas-affiliated Change and Reform Bloc said on Monday.
The Bloc said in a statement to news agency Ma’an that cutting the salaries of Hamas deputies in the PA follows the cutting of salaries of Hamas deputies in Gaza back in 2007 – which is still in effect today.
The Bloc denounced the move as political blackmail, especially after the PA had just cut off the salaries of 227 freed prisoners.
But Hamas officials have nothing to worry about, since the 2007 Fatah–Hamas Mecca Agreement, signed by both sides, declared an end to the internal military confrontations in the Gaza Strip and declared the forming of a national unity government. Fatah signatories included Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and PM Mohammed Dahlan, while Hamas was represented by Ismail Haniya and Khaled Mashal. These people can be relied on to honor their commitments once they sign an agreement, can’t they?
Good luck!