RAMALLAH, West Bank - Israel transferred millions of dollars worth of tax funds to the new Palestinian government, allowing it to pay its workers in full for the first time in a year -- while skipping the ones who work for the Islamic Hamas in Gaza.
Transfer of the funds Sunday marked the first concrete gesture of Israeli support for moderate President Mahmoud Abbas since the Islamic militant Hamas took control of Gaza by force last month.
The Israeli government said US$119 million was handed over, and Palestinian officials confirmed that they received it. The Israelis said a further transfer would be made in a few days.
The salaries will be paid by Abbas' Western-backed government, except for government employees hired by Hamas, like members of the 6,000-strong Hamas security force. Abbas expelled Hamas from the Palestinian government after the Gaza seizure and appointed a new prime minister, Salam Fayyad.
Under Hamas, the 165,000 government employees had only received irregular, partial payments because of an international aid boycott imposed on the government headed by the Islamic militants.
In dispensing the salaries, the West Bank-based government was asserting its legitimacy, disputed by the Hamas rulers of Gaza. Members of security forces in Gaza were told they would be paid only if they stayed home and refused to work under Hamas command.
The Fayyad government is also switching the weekend for the public sector from Thursday-Friday to Friday-Saturday, apparently to make it more compatible with the West's work schedules. In Hamas-ruled Gaza, some government employees were told they should stick to the old weekend and warned they would be punished if they take off Saturdays.
Bilal Qureshali, who works in the Communications Ministry in Gaza, said he would stay home Thursday through Saturday to avoid problems. He said he was told by his Hamas-allied boss to ignore the orders coming from the West Bank and warned he would be punished if he took off Saturday. If forced to take sides, he said he would pick the West Bank government.
Since Hamas came to power in March 2006, Israel had frozen roughly $600 million, mostly customs duties that it collects on behalf of the Palestinians under interim peace accords. Israel said Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction and has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings, could use the money to fund attacks.
After Abbas expelled Hamas from the government, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the financial transfers would resume. The tax funds account for roughly half of the Palestinian government's operating budget.
"Israel is committed to ... strengthening the new (Palestinian) government and to cooperate fully both in the financial and security realms," Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin said.
Israel's Shin Bet security service, meanwhile, announced it had arrested 11 Hamas members in Jerusalem over the past several months and disrupted an attempt by the Islamic group to increase its influence in the disputed city.
Those detained included heads of charities that channeled money to local Hamas operatives from sources outside of the country, the Shin Bet said Monday Others allegedly organized Hamas activities in Jerusalem. There was no indication that any of the men were involved in militant activity.
Shin Bet said Hamas was trying to tap "a reservoir of potential military recruits" with Jerusalem residency papers. Such documents allow easy entry into Israel, which is far more difficult for a Palestinian from the West Bank.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, denied any connection between Hamas and the Jerusalem charities and said the arrested men are "no more than religious preachers."
Since the government is the largest employer in the Palestinian territories, the cutoff crippled the Palestinian economy.
It costs about $120 million a month to cover the payroll, and Palestinian Cabinet Secretary Saadi Krunz said the government had enough money to pay full salaries in the coming two days.
Olmert said he was encouraged by the Fayyad government's recent steps, but Israel would push forward with its latest crackdown on Palestinian militants. Last week, Abbas ordered all armed groups in the West Bank to disarm, including gunmen tied to his Fatah movement, as part of his efforts to restore law and order.
"Some of the actions already taken by the Palestinian government ... will help us to find, slowly and cautiously, paths of cooperation," Olmert said. "At the same time, the war on terror continues and will not cease.
Early Monday, Israeli troops on a raid in the West Bank town of Jenin killed an armed member of a militant group affiliated to Abbas' Fatah movement, the military and Palestinians said.
An army statement said the man, carrying an assault rifle with a telescopic sight, was shot dead during a shootout in the town's refugee camp.
The militant Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade named the dead man as Mohammed Haija, one of its Jenin commanders, and said another group member was wounded.
Palestinians said Haija was considered close to Zakariya Zubeidi, a leader of Al Aqsa in the camp who has long been on the Israeli army's wanted list.
