C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 002545

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR
WILLIAMS/GREENE/WATERS/WAECHTER; NSC FOR
ABRAMS/DORAN/LOGERFO; TREASURY FOR NUGENT/ADKINS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2016
TAGS: EFIN ECON KTFN KWBG
SUBJECT: PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY DISBURSES PARTIAL SALARIES
IN CASH IN GAZA

REF: JERUSALEM 2245

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) Palestinian Authority Finance Minister Abdel Razeq
announced to Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) members
June 19 that the PA would start paying partial salaries in
Gaza through the post offices that day and is considering
doing so in the West Bank, as well. The local press June 20
reported that the PA had begun disbursement of USD 300 per
employee, for those earning up to NIS 2500 (USD 563), in Gaza
through the PA-operated post offices. Jerusalem-based Arabic
daily al-Quds ran on its front page June 20 a photograph of a
postal employee handing out the payments in crisp one-hundred
dollar bills.


2. (C) IMF Resident Representative Joel Toujas clarified
June 20 to EconChief that, according to his sources in the PA
Finance Ministry, the USD 300 payments are only for roughly
90,000 PA employees earning between NIS 1500 and 2500 and are
funded from the approximately USD 27 million in cash that
Hamas ministers had brought through the Rafah crossing in May
and June. (Note: Toujas said that his Finance Ministry
sources had told him that the PA had previously managed to
pay out one salary payment to most employees earning less
than NIS 1500 per month from accumulated domestic revenues
(reftel). Except for the Bank of Palestine and a couple of
smaller local banks, the bulk of these payments had also been
made through the post offices. End note.)


3. (C) Toujas said that he had heard security service
members were told to go to the "security headquarters in
Gaza" to receive their USD 300 payment. Toujas said that the
PA has not yet managed to transfer funds to the West Bank to
enable post offices there to begin similar disbursements
since commercial banks in Gaza are refusing to be party to
such a transfer. Toujas also said that the partial salary
payments were only being made to current PA employees, not to
pensioners or social hardship cases.
WALLES