"The PA begs for money for Gaza, keeps it for itself"

Hamas mouthpiece Felesteen has a series of articles on the Palestinian Authority misuse of its funds. The source is biased, but some of the numbers seem to be legitimate.

According to the articles, the public debt owed by the Palestinian Auhority in Ramallah is now at $3.702 billion, a jump of $905 million in just one year, and 53% of its GDP.

They quoted some economists about how the PA steals money from Gaza.

Dr. Osama Nofal blames Gaza's economic woes on the PA, not Israel. He says that the PA will raise cash from international donors to fund Gaza reconstruction but never gives any of the money to Gaza.   He said the PA's continued imposition of economic sanctions on Gaza caused a decline in the gross domestic product from 40 to 18%, and an increase in unemployment from 22 to 50%. Accordintg to Nofal, Gaza's share of international aid annually has been slashed from $400 million  to $20 million. 

Economist Dr. Samir Al-Daqran that the Ministry of Finance in Ramallah seizes the taxes of major companies operating in the Gaza Strip, saying ti gets $60 million a month from taxes imposed on goods that go through Kerem Shalom but none of it makes it back to Gaza.

The economists didn't mention the money coming from Iran to Gaza. 

There was one good piece of information: the articles confirmed that the PA has curtailed "pay for slay" a little bit. They reduced or stopped paying Hamas "martyr" families in Gaza, which apparently has a large effect on the Gaza economy.

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