US pressure foiled wages plan

Gaza City: Palestinian Prime Minister Esmail Haniya of Hamas said yesterday that US pressure has foiled the latest idea for paying 165,000 government workers transferring money from abroad directly into their accounts and he appealed to Arab nations to counter the US moves.

Reflecting frustration over empty coffers, Haniya told a news conference that the Hamas-led government has raised money, but so far has not found a way to get it into the Palestinian areas.

Meanwhile, in his final report before stepping down, a senior international mediator warned on Tuesday that the West's cutoff of aid to the Palestinians after the Hamas takeover could spell humanitarian and political disaster and might even destabilise the region.

James Wolfensohn resigned from his position as the envoy of the Quartet of Mideast peacemakers closing the office on April 30.