Angry Palestinians storm bank to demand salaries

About 30 people burst into the main branch of the Arab Bank in Gaza City today, demanding salaries promised to them by the Palestinian government.

The Hamas-led government said about 40,000 civil servants would be paid today for the first time in three months. But it appeared that the money did not reach all of the promised accounts.

The people screamed at the bank manager and threw water on his desk, forcing bank officials to call police for help.

The people were removed, and the bank was closed. It appeared that only account holders with the Bank of Palestine, which serves about 10,000 civil servants, received salaries today.

Other banks published an advertisement in local papers saying they still had not received money from the government.

The government has been unable to pay salaries since taking office in March due to a cut-off in international assistance.

Officials said last week they had collected enough money through local taxes to pay one-month’s salary to low-earning civil servants

But more than 100,000 higher-earning workers still can not be paid.