Hamas warns of a serious financial crisis in Gaza that threatens the salaries of more than 40,000 officials

July 16 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas has recognized a serious financial crisis in the Gaza Strip that has forced the delay of payment of the salaries of more than 40,000 civil servants.

The deputy minister of the Hamas Finance portfolio, Awni al Basha, explained in an interview with the Al Aqsa chain, related to the movement, that the deficit of the Palestinian enclave increases every month and has reached such a point that the Government is ” unable to pay their employees”

In the interview, collected by the New Arab portal, Al Basha cites among the main factors of the crisis the increase in public spending and the drop in tax revenue that have led the administration of the Palestinian enclave to postpone payment of the wages.

“The financial crisis and the Israeli blockade in various sectors have impacted the salaries of civil servants. To this we must add the drop in aid from Qatar, the high price of Egyptian fuel and the lack of aid to ministries,” he said. sorry.

Al Basha has assured, however, that Hamas is “making significant efforts to pay salaries” and hopes to resolve this problem “by the end of next week.”