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Ramallah, West Bank: Government employees in the Gaza Strip will not receive salaries this month because of a severe cash drought in Palestinian banks there, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Tuesday.
Fayyad said the state would transfer funds to Gaza banks yesterday but an Israeli blockade had prevented moving enough cash to the Hamas-run coastal enclave in time to cover salaries of more than 77,000 government employees.
"We are facing a real problem. There is a need for 250 million Israeli shekels [Dh231.03 million] to pay the salaries. Now, there are only 47 million shekels in the banks in the Gaza Strip and this is not enough to pay employees," Fayyad told reporters.
"Israel's refusal to allow the transfer of sufficient cash to Palestinian banks in the Gaza Strip is part of the unfair siege. It is not a new step, but Israel has tightened the blockade in the past three weeks," he added.
Imposed to generate political pressure on Islamist Hamas, the blockade has been stepped up amid a surge in border clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters.
An Israeli defence ministry official said that only humanitarian aid would be allowed into Gaza as long as militant rocket fire into Israel continued and crossings remained shut.
"As long as the rocket fire continues it will not be possible to provide even the most basic supplies beyond humanitarian aid," the official, Peter Lerner, said.
Fayyad spoke to reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah where his government sits. Gaza is controlled by rival Hamas.
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