Scenes From the Palestinian Liberation LXXIV
I’m not known as the most sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, but at least the bombs that I throw are figurative, not literal:
Thousands of government employees and security officials filled the streets of Gaza on Saturday, burning tires, blocking roads and firing in the air, to protest delays and complications in receiving their long-awaited salaries.
The Palestinian government on Thursday began paying partial salaries to 165,000 civil servants who haven’t received their full wages in months due to an economic embargo on the Palestinian Authority. The individual payments of US $350 come from money donated to the government by Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
But government employees complained that in some cases, the money hadn’t arrived, and in others they were left with nothing after Palestinian banks had deducted commissions and interest and paid off existing loans.
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In Deir el-Balah, a grenade was thrown at protesters. Five people were wounded by shrapnel, Israel Radio reported.
I’ve done a little research, and I’ve found that lots of money has been pledged to the Palestinians over the last several months (the Google search results page is here). I’m just a little curious if that money has been delivered and where it has gone?
Why, for example, do we read of Saudi pledges of $250 million, when Saudi funds received amount to only $15 million?