Hamas aide caught at border with 639,000 euros [Over $800,000!]

Reuters ^ | 19MAY06 | Reuters

[familyop]

GAZA (Reuters) - Rival Palestinian forces rushed to the Gaza border on Friday after customs police caught a Hamas official trying to enter from Egypt with 639,000 euros ($804,000) hidden in his clothing, officials and witnesses said.

Around 100 Hamas gunmen raced to the Rafah border crossing, which is guarded by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's presidential guard, raising fears of a fresh Palestinian infighting.

Witnesses said presidential guard reinforcements were also sent to the area.

Palestinian officials said Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, was refusing to leave the border terminal without the money, which was confiscated by Palestinian customs agents.

The masked Hamas gunmen said they would not leave the scene without Abu Zuhri, who is the official spokesman of the Hamas movement rather than the Hamas-led government.

Palestinian police fought gunbattles in Gaza City on Friday with a new Hamas-led security force set up by the Islamist government in defiance of Abbas. At least four people were wounded in the first fighting since Hamas deployed the force on Wednesday.

Facing a U.S.-led funding and banking blockade, the government is broke and has been unable to pay salaries to 165,000 employees.

Samir Abu Nahla, the Palestinian director of the Rafah crossing, said Abu Zuhri "was wrapping the money around his belly and that was an illegal act".

"According to the law, we have confiscated the money and an investigation should be held to determine whether it came from a legitimate source," Abu Nahla told Reuters, adding that agents have seized Abu Zuhri's passport as well.

A Hamas source said the money was inside the pockets of Abu Zuhri's jacket.

A spokesman for the contingent of European monitors at Rafah said this was the first time that such a large amount of money had been confiscated at the crossing.

[Dallas59]

Toll change?

[familyop]

In case anyone wonders where the money goes ping!

[Paladin2]

Just doing the job Arafat can no longer do.

[Cindy]

Ditto.

[Da Mav]

Where is Hamas getting the money to outfit their brand spanking newly equipped and uniformed militia?

Interesting question, nicely addressed here: http://hedgehogcentral.blogspot.com/2006/05/gaza-millions-for-kalashnikovs-not.html

We keep reading about how the Palestinian people are suffering, but they seem to have plenty of money for weapons, uniforms, and explosives. No doubt some of that "humanitarian" aid that the dupes constantly assure us is being faithfully distributed by the UN and US. Our tax dollars at work.

No doubt our tax dollars at work, buying new guns for Hamas as part of the "humanitarian" aid package.

Hamas: Thanks Uncle Sucker for the new weapons and uniforms

[hershey]

They were talking about doing exactly this on NPR last week -- smuggling in money from the EU. (The 'humanitarian crisis' requires desperate measures.)

[MonroeDNA]

It came from Carter.

[mtbopfuyn]

That must have been one big pocket.

[Da Mav]

The more we shovel millions in "humanitarian" aid into the area, the more it gets diverted into weapons and military equipment, the longer and more intense the fighting becomes, the more people die and suffer.

The "humanitarians" patting themselves on the back from their phoney moral high ground are propping up Hamas and contributing directly to the misery.

[ConsistentLibertarian]

"We keep reading about how the Palestinian people are suffering, but they seem to have plenty of money for weapons, uniforms, and explosives."

Happens. Look at North Korea for a really horrific example.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Considering they have a "desperately poor" government, these Hamas officials sure carry a lot of cash around with them.

$450,000 said stolen from PA foreign minister during visit to Kuwait

[observer5]

...pay salaries to 165,000 employees.

How can this many people work for that government? The place is only 3 yards big?

[Halgr]

As I understand it, the US has told Arab banks, infact all banks everywhere, that if they transfer funds to the Pali's they can no longer do business with the US....so all banks wanting to continue to business with the US have virtually cut off Hamas from any money....so this is not unexpected or a surprise to me.

[Da Mav]

It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that Hamas is diverting "humanitarian" funds to buy weapons for their militia. The question is why the US is gullible enough to be funding them.

[Da Mav]

The Palestinians are a welfare colony. A large share of their revenue comes from Europe and the US. Europe especially and more recently the US has effectively been subsidizing their attacks on Israel for many years.

Whenever a squeeze comes on, the BBC, NPR, and liberal media showers us with pictures and stories of Pale hardship. This is followed by boosted 'humanitarian' aid, which gets converted by the local thuggery into weaponry and private bank accounts. As welfare payments have grown, guess what -- so has violence. What a surprise.

A classic case of rewarding people who are doing A and expecting them to do B. A=terrorism; B=peace.

[Da Mav]

Good point, and another excellent example of a road to hell being paved with good intentions. Or by utter dupes, depending on how cynical you want to be.

[C210N]

How can this many people work for that government? The place is only 3 yards big?

They have alot of "planners", as well as chemists. Also, somebody has to employ the remaining family members of suicide bombers - and the PA is just taking responsibility for being the employer of last resort.

[Halgr]

You mean the Pali's have no industry or commerce????

Who would ah thunk?????

[EQAndyBuzz]

That AK looks brand spanking new. You can even see the blue on it.