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Gaza's Public Servants Outraged at Hamas' Recent Spending
(Al-Monitor) Huda Baroud - On Dec. 17, media sites circulated a leaked document from Hamas' Popular Action Department detailing the movement's expenses for the celebrations of its 31st anniversary in mid-December in Gaza City. The expenditures, including travel and accommodation costs to bring the Al-Waad band from Beirut to Gaza to participate in the festivities, totaled $534,350 - a bill that angered many Hamas government employees in Gaza who have been paid only half their full salary since 2013. Bayan Bakr, a spokesman for the Ministry of Finance in Gaza, said Hamas has been suffering a financial crisis since the fall of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's regime, when the new Egyptian government launched a campaign against the Hamas tunnels. Hamas benefited from taxes imposed on products that entered Gaza through the tunnels. Bakr said Hamas government employees recently received 60% of their salaries after a Qatari payout.