[On April 1, Egypt was reported to have found what was described as a
massive cache of surface-to-air and anti-tank rockets in the Sinai
Peninsula. An Egyptian newspaper said the weapons were meant to have been
smuggled to the Gaza Strip.]
In July 2009, the PA froze funds for the Palestinian association called
Friends of the Sick. The PA decision took place after the Hamas
takeover of the association, which operates a medical center in the Gaza
Strip. Hamas was said to have put 200 new members on the governing board
of Friends of the Sick.
"This [PA freeze] was based on entirely political considerations that
have no relationship to the association's charitable work," Friends of the
Sick said.
The Hamas seizure sparked panic in the financial community of the Gaza
Strip. Ten banks have been operating branches in the area, with funds
transferred through the Palestinian Monetary Authority, which ordered a
closure of the financial institutions in the Gaza Strip.
"This was meant to protest the vicious attack that one of the banks and
its employees were exposed to," the authority said.
Still, Hamas was expected to raid other banks that contain frozen funds
of Friends of the Sick. The organization said it kept accounts in two banks
other than Bank of Palestine.
"There are two other banks in Gaza that have our money, and during the
coming days we'll get it back," Omar Farwana, a Hamas board member of the
association, said.
