PM Says New Hamas Government Is Broke
(Or: Why Can’t Other People Pay for My Stuff? – Part II)

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Apr 5, 2006 (AP)— The new Hamas-led government is broke and missed the April 1 monthly pay date for tens of thousands of Palestinian public workers, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday.

It was the Islamic militants' first admission they will have difficulty running the West Bank and Gaza without massive foreign aid.

Well, yeah. Given that they have absolutely no productive economy, that might be a problem. The tragedy is that before intifada 2, the Palestinian economy was doing well from trade and tourism from Israel. Looks like unbridled Jew murder, while no doubt emotionally satisfying, has some financial downsides.

So now the Palestinians’ main problem is: Our economy is shot and we’re unproductive. Why can’t other people pay for our stuff?

The Palestinian Authority is the largest employer in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, providing salaries for 140,000 people that sustain about one-third of the Palestinians. Haniyeh said it was unclear how the government will meet its payroll.

Swell! We’ve commented on this before. The government being the largest employer is not a good sign.

At least the U.S., Canada, and Israel are sticking to their guns and refusing to turn the cash faucets back on. We’ll see. Maybe the European Union will decide to pay for their stuff. - served up by Doctor Bean @ 2:52 PM