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"Generous" Pledges Belittle Aid Threats: Hamas
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"We
will make judicious use of the resources and public funds
available and cut mind-boggling salaries," said Haniya.
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By
Olla Attallah, IOL Correspondent
GAZA
CITY, February 25, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – Hamas has received generous
aid pledges at the grassroots and state levels in the Muslim world,
double the aid which the US, the EU and others are threatening to cut off after the movement's
landslide electoral victory, a senior Hamas leader revealed on
Saturday, February 25.
"Hamas
is confident that these promises would be honored," Khalil Abu
Lila told IslamOnline.net.
"It's
too early to speak of an exact figure, but the sure thing is that the
aid would meet the needs of the Palestinian people and would be double
what the US and the Europeans used to give [the Palestinian
Authority]," he added.
Hamas
MP Mohamad Abu Tayran earlier said that Hamas has already got $100
million from an "Arab body."
The
PA is dependent on foreign aid and on tax revenues collected by
Israel
on its behalf to pay its 140,000 employees and keep its ministries and
institutions functioning.
The
US and EU have demanded that Hamas "renounce violence,"
disarm and change its charter on the destruction of Israel or risk
losing foreign aid to a Hamas-led PA.
Hamas
reiterated frequently that it would neither recognize Israel
nor negotiate with Tel Aviv until the latter recognized Palestinian
rights.
Israel
has decided to stop handing the tax revenues over to the PA, worth $50
to $55 million a month.
"We
refuse to be blackmailed," Abu Lila said. "This aid, which
should not be politically motivated, will go directly to the
Palestinian people and Hamas would not make use of a single
penny."
Chief
Donors
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Abbas
(L) has asked the US
to "respect the democratic choice of the Palestinians."
(Reuters)
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On
Hamas's would be donors, Abu Lila cited Iran
as the largest.
"Talks
are also under way between Hamas and Saudi Arabia, which is already the Palestinian Authority's major Arab donor,"
said the Hamas leader."
Qatar
has also pledged aid to the upcoming Hamas-led government."
He
hailed both Egypt
and Saudi Arabia
for refusing to bow to American pressures in this respect.
"Saudi Arabia
has underlined that it would continue its aid to the Palestinian
people," Abu Lila recalled.
US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday, February 24, wrapped up
a
Middle East
tour with a failure to mobilize Arab states to isolate a Hamas-led
government.
Saudi
Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal made clear that Riyadh
would continue to back the PA financially.
Egypt
said
Washington, which has pushed for greater democracy in the
Middle East, should respect the outcome of the democratic Palestinian elections
and not rush to boycott a government led by Hamas.
Abu
Lila further thanked the Muslim Brotherhood, from which Hamas was
born, for pledging to allocate one-fourth of its revenues to the new
government.
"Thank
God, there are many benevolent people out there and we promise our
people that there will be no regrets for voting for Hamas," he
said.
The
Palestinian resistance group has swept the parliamentary elections,
winning 74 seats in the 132-seat Palestinian Legislative Council,
while President Mahmoud Abbas's ruling Fatah only got 45 seats.
A
Hamas delegation embarked earlier in the month on a multi-leg Arab and
Muslim tour to garner support from governments and individuals.
"The
tour proved a success as many countries pledged to pay the salaries of
the government employees and build infrastructure projects and
hospitals in the Palestinian territories," prominent Hamas
official Marwan Abu Ras has said.
Austere
Policy
Hamas
leader and Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniya has pledged that his
government would adopt an austere policy as part of its plans to do
without the US
and EU aid.
"We
will make judicious use of the resources and public funds available
and cut mind-boggling salaries," he said. "I, in my capacity
as a prime minister, can do with $1,500."
He
asserted that the bad old days of wasting public fund have gone with
the winds.
EU
officials said on Friday that the bloc would seek ways to fund the PA
when its foreign ministers meet on Monday, February 27, to prevent its
financial collapse.
UN
Middle East envoy Alvaro de Soto
has appealed for funds for the PA, warning that an abrupt cut-off of
aid could lead to its collapse.
Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas renewed Saturday his appeal for the US
and Europe
to "respect the democratic choice of the Palestinians."
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