Can Hamas reform Palestinian finances?
With Fatah now likely playing the role of opposition in parliament, Hamas is left to make sense of the financial situation. Some 135,000 civil and security servants have to be paid each month, the authority’s largest expenditure. The government also must oversee everyday issues such as keeping schools open, running hospitals and ensuring trash gets removed from the streets of Gaza and the West Bank. In January, the government came close to crisis when Israel, a major contributor to the Palestinian Authority’s monthly revenue, refused to release $55 million in monthly tax revenues owed the Palestinians but acquiesced at the last moment. And if Hamas refuses to accept Israel and reject its militant past, the United States and other Western countries and organizations may yank their support which helps fund the Palestinian government’s $800 million annual budget. “Palestinian people are worried about Hamas’ victory, worried about salaries, food,” Palestinian coffee shop owner Samy el-Aklo
