[Ha'aretz] Avi Issacharoff - PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas gave 5,000 members of Hamas' special "operational force" salaries this week with money sent from the Arab League, Palestinian sources say. Most belong to Hamas' military wing, Iz al-Din al-Qassam, led by Yussef al-Zahar, the Palestinian foreign minister's brother. The force joined the Palestinian police force six weeks ago. Members of the force have led some of the clashes with the PA's preventive security forces in Gaza. So far, Abbas' office has paid NIS 1,500 to all officials for the months of March, April, and May, but salaries for June and July have not been paid.
2006-08-23 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive