KEY international peace brokers will pay the salaries of cash-strapped Palestinian civil servants by setting up a trust fund through the office of President Mahmoud Abbas that bypasses the Hamas Government.

Up to 165,000 Palestinian workers in the West Bank and Gaza are to receive salaries this month after not being paid for almost 12 weeks. The funds dried up after militant group Hamas won the Palestinian election in late January, sparking a US-led boycott of dealings with the governing authority.

But the Quartet of the US, the European Union, the UN and Russia have now agreed to fund the salaries, providing Hamas has no role in paying them.

The move follows a financial squeeze that many observers believed was threatening a humanitarian disaster in the Palestinian territories.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh reacted warily to the decision last night, claiming the caveats that came with the deal were unworkable.

“The Quartet has set conditions,” he said. “They aim to push the Palestinian Government to make concessions that harm our rights … and give the Israeli occupation legitimacy.”

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the decision had been reached on humanitarian grounds after reports the financial squeeze was taking a toll on aid relief. “It is to provide assistance to the Palestinian people so they do not suffer deprivation,” Dr Rice said.
theaustrailian.news.com

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