Officials confirmed Nasser's statement. They said the financial crisis
began to affect the Hamas regime in February 2010 when thousands of civil
servants, including security officers, failed to receive their salaries for
the previous month.
Hamas, with a $540 million budget for 2010, employs more than 30,000
staffers, including police and security officers, Middle East Newsline reported. Officials said some of the
senior officials were asked to take a 50 percent cut in salary until the
crisis was resolved.
Egypt has also blocked the flow of funds from Iran and other Islamic
states, said to provide nearly $500 million per year. Officials said Egypt
seized about $50 million, or nearly two months worth of salaries, in January
2010.
"There has been a tightening of the blockade by the Egyptian
government," Nasser said.
Nasser also said Gaza's 10 banks have refused to deal with the Hamas
regime amid fear of European Union and U.S. sanctions. He said the U.S.
Federal Reserve has increased enforcement of sanctions on the Hamas regime
and required the Gaza banks to report all transactions.
"They have been ordered by the U.S. Federal Reserve to prevent dealings
with Hamas and its government in Gaza," Nasser said. "The most difficult
thing has been the government's ability to achieve liquidity."
One casualty of the financial crisis has been Hamas's refusal to pay for
fuel for the Gaza Strip's sole power plant. In April, power outages became a
daily occurrence as the Gaza power plant was producing about a third of its
capacity amid a shortage of fuel. Israel supplies about 70 percent of
electricity for the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas government has sought to play down Nasser's statement. Hamas
Deputy Prime Minister Ziyad Zaza denied any financial crisis, saying no
staffer has been unpaid.
"Most of the employees received a salary, either full or in part for
technical reasons," Zaza said.
The interim solution by Hamas has been to increase taxes on Gazans.
Officials said owners of businesses were beginning to receive monthly tax
bills.
"We have not imposed any new tax that did not exist in the past," Hamas
spokesman Taher Al Nono said. "We are charging tax only to those who are
doing great business."
