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Just hours after a top Hamas official was caught by Egyptian authorities trying to smuggle millions of dollars and euros into the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert gave permission for the Palestinian Authority to transfer NIS 170 million from the West Bank to Gaza to pay government officials there.It's the first such transfer since the end of Operation Cast Lead.The Prime Minister's Office said it agreed to transfer the funds in accordance with a request by PA Prime Minister Salaam Fayad.The officials to be paid are mostly Fatah members.Israel Radio reported that Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni opposed the move, and told Olmert that they feared the money would make its way into the hands of Hamas members.The report further stated that Olmert defended the transfer, saying that the funds were tax money which Israel had collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, and it was theirs to distribute.Olmert agreed to Fayad's request following pressure from the United States, Israel Radio further stated.Meanwhile, the Hamas delegation which was charged with trying to secure a ceasefire with Israel was stopped when it tried to leave Egypt with $9 million and 2 million euros in their suitcases, an Egyptian security official said.The Egyptians confiscated the cash, which is suspected to have come from Iran.Gaza has suffered from a severe cash shortage since Israel placed a blockade on the territory following the bloody Hamas takeover in June 2007.By JPOST.COM STAFF
As in the days of Noah...
