Hamas official caught smuggling cash in Gaza

Forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confiscated 635,000 euros from Hamas spokesman Sami abu Zuhri on May 19 at the Rafah border crossing from Egypt, officials from both sides said. Abu Zuhri was returning from a trip to Qatar, where he said he had been given the cash in donations. Abu Zuhri told reporters in Gaza that the funds were private donations, about $800,000 US dollars, received during his Qatar visit. "If helping my people is a crime, it is one I am proud to commit," he said. Abbas ordered a criminal investigation of the incident, while Hamas bitterly denounced the seizure as unlawful. "What was wrong in bringing in money to help our people?" Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a member of the Hamas leadership, demanded in a speech at Gaza's largest mosque. In addition to highlighting the combative relations between the ruling Hamas and the Fatah faction it defeated in January elections, the incident demonstrated just how cash-starved the Palestinian government is. Hamas inherited a debt of more than $1 billion and has been unable to pay government salaries for two months. The incident also illustrated the volatility of the situation in Gaza, where thousands of rival gunmen stand ready to intervene in any dispute. Shortly after Abu Zuhri was detained by Abbas' men, dozens of Hamas militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades rushed to the Rafah crossing. The standoff was defused when Abu Zuhri told the fighters that Interior Minister Said Siyam, a Hamas loyalist, had been assured by Fatah officials that the confiscation was a temporary measure. Abu Zuhri left the crossing in the company of a Hamas guard.