Hamas, which delayed paying the June paychecks to its workers until late July, said that it will delay the July checks as well until before Eid al Fitr which is at the end of August.
However, assistant minster of finance Ismail Hafouz insisted that this does not reflect on any financial problems Hamas is having. Rather, he says, there is a shortage of "liquidity" (paper cash) that is preventing the disbursement of salaries.
It is an interesting coincidence that Hamas started having problems paying its employees at the exact same time that the PA did. Did the cash-strapped PA reduce the amount of its budget paid to Gaza in June, leading to this situation? Hamas only stays afloat because of the money the PA continues to pump into territory that its officials still cannot safely visit.
