Gaza City, Aug 28: The Palestinian Authority has frozen 39 bank accounts of nine Islamic charities in what appeared to be part of a US-sought crackdown on Palestinian militants, according to an official document obtained today by a news agency. The Palestinian Authority has been under growing US pressure to take action against militants, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, after they formally abandoned a unilateral truce last week, following Israel's killing of a Hamas leader in response to a deadly Hamas bus bombing.
Despite US prodding, the Palestinian government has been reluctant to arrest the militants and seize their weapons, because of concern about triggering unrest and because of wrangling between Yasser Arafat and his Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas, over control of the security forces. The order to shut down the bank accounts was issued by the Palestinian monetary authority on Sunday, and came to light today, when hundreds of Palestinians relying on welfare payments from charities tried to pick up their monthly support checks at banks in Gaza City. They were told by banks they would not receive the money because the accounts have been frozen.
Officials in the Palestinian Monetary Authority declined comment. Dore Gold, an Israeli government spokesman, welcomed the freezing of funds. "There have been charities that Israel has long suspected of being front organisations for Hamas," he said. "Anything that serves this need of stopping the flow of money is a positive development." Bureau Report