Hamas said recruiting dozens of PA troops as Ramallah can’t afford to pay them in full

Hamas has managed to recruit dozens of members of the Palestinian Authority security forces, using them as fighters and for intelligence, the Kan public broadcaster reports, without citing any sources.

The PA has only been able to pay its forces 80% of their salary due to Ramallah’s financial woes.

Israel has been withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue that it collects on the PA’s behalf, saying it is because the PA grants stipends to those who have carried out attacks against Israelis and to attackers’ families.
Israel assured the US months ago that it would take steps to boost the PA but has yet to do so, and yesterday’s Hebron-area terror attack will likely further delay the process, as members of the far-right coalition have called for “revenge” against the Palestinians.

Last month, a senior officer in the PA’s Preventive Security Service revealed in a meeting that the PA faces an uphill battle in its attempt to curb terror in the West Bank, where Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have been recruiting impoverished youths to carry out attacks.

Source » timesofisrael.com