RAMALLAH, West Bank - No mobile phones, no international calls, no fuel coupons and no “excessive” hospitality for senior employees. Hamas is tightening the purse strings. Struggling under six months of international sanctions imposed because of its refusal to recognise Israel and renounce violence, the Islamic militant group that heads the Palestinian government is saving money as best it can.And the austerity drive appears to be bearing fruit. Acting Finance Minister Samir Abu Eisha said running expenses had been cut from $30 million a month to less than $20 million, with the aim to get them down to $15 million. “We’re even reviewing the whole use of vehicles in the public sector,” Abu Eisha, who has stood in for Finance Minister Omar Abdel-Razeq since he was jailed by Israel in June, told Reuters. “Hopefully we’ll be able to cut other expenses so we can maximise the money we collect locally,” he said.
| "Sorry Granny, we're cutting back, so no check this month." "But my gracious, how will I ever afford ammo?" |
Abu Eisha, a US-educated professor who also acts as planning minister, said the inability to pay salaries had had an impact on other revenues because the 3.8 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza were spending less. Those local revenues had dropped from over $30 million to some $20 million per month, he said. “The factories, the companies are not running as expected. Because of that, their income is down and the revenues we collect of course are reduced,” he said.
The World Bank said on Wednesday that the average PalestinianÂ’s personal income was likely to fall by 40 percent this year, while the rate of poverty would rise to around two-thirds of the population.