Abbas's prime minister, Salam Fayyad, said that as a result, he did not have enough money to pay salaries to government workers in both the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Government workers have declared a strike, citing Fayyad's inability to pay wages at the beginning of the month.
The financial trade-off underscored the difficult balancing act facing Fayyad, who, in addition to running a government dependent on foreign aid, wants to take the lead in reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip to sideline Hamas.
Source: FOCUS Information Agency
