Special to WorldTribune.com

GAZA CITY — Hamas has reported a significant increase in its
government budget in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas said it has drafted a budget of $769 million for 2012, an increase
of 22 percent from this year. The Islamic regime said the key sectors in the
budget were military and security.

“They are security, public order, social services and education, which
represent around 62 percent of the total budget,” Hamas said.

Meanwhile, the Hamas regime has reported the dismissal of 120
security officials on charges of corruption.

In a statement on Dec. 6, Hamas said the 2012 budget contained $405
million for salaries, compared to $298 million for 2011. Hamas has employed
30,000 civil servants, about two-thirds of them military and security
personnel.

Hamas Finance Minister Ismail Mahfouz said tax revenues would comprise
about 20 percent of the budget. Mahfouz said taxes from Gazans would amount
to no more than $174 million for 2012.

Officials said Arab donors would provide most of Hamas’s budget for
2012. They said Iranian aid was expected to decline over the next year amid
the revolt in Syria and the military buildup of Teheran’ proxy Hizbullah in
neighboring Lebanon.

The Interior Ministry said it fired 120 employees for abuse of power and
other inappropriate behavior. Ministry spokesman Islam Shahwan said the
staffers, who could not appeal their dismissal, were forced to
leave their jobs after several warnings.

“There were no senior officials involved,” Shahwan said.

Officials said the ministry decided on the dismissals amid rising
complaints of abuse by security officers and officials. They said the
complaints fueled protests against the Islamic regime throughout the Gaza
Strip in early 2011.

Shahwan said the ministry has pledged to battle corruption within the
security forces, which number 20,000. He said some of those dismissed were
charged with relaying sensitive data of Hamas operations and
training. All charges were said to have been examined by a panel of security
officers.

“Those dismissed were given numerous chances to correct their behavior,”
Shahwan said.

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