47% of Ministry of Finance's budget in Gaza goes to civil servants, prisoners and families
“The [PA] Ministry of Finance published a statement of clarification to the press yesterday evening, in which it responded to the declarations attributed to Hamas Deputy Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh. The statement reads as follows:
‘On the issue of the declarations made by Hamas Deputy Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh… who said that ‘There is no truth to the claim that what they [the PA] spend on Gaza is 55% of the PA budget,’ we in the Ministry of Finance believe that it is necessary to clarify that in practice, we transfer no less than 47% of our budget for the benefit of our brothers in the southern districts (i.e., the Gaza Strip). These expenses include the salaries of over 63,000 civilian and military employees, as well as the salaries of the prisoners, the released [prisoners] and the families of the Martyrs (Shahids) and wounded.’”
‘On the issue of the declarations made by Hamas Deputy Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh… who said that ‘There is no truth to the claim that what they [the PA] spend on Gaza is 55% of the PA budget,’ we in the Ministry of Finance believe that it is necessary to clarify that in practice, we transfer no less than 47% of our budget for the benefit of our brothers in the southern districts (i.e., the Gaza Strip). These expenses include the salaries of over 63,000 civilian and military employees, as well as the salaries of the prisoners, the released [prisoners] and the families of the Martyrs (Shahids) and wounded.’”