Haneya denies fiscal crisis in Gaza gov't

Deposed Hamas' government Prime Minister Ismail Haneya said Thursday his government, which controls Gaza, does not suffer a fiscal crisis.

Haneya, who inaugurated a key street in Gaza this year after half of it was paved, said "the opening of the street is the response to all rumors, lies and fabrications" that the government was in a crisis.

"The government continues to restore Gaza's infrastructure despite the siege and the lack of facilities," Haneya added.

Haneya did not talk about his government's failure to hand complete salaries down to its employees over the past couple of months.

Earlier, Hamas legislator Jamal Nassar said the government does not have enough cash since banks refuses to transfer money to Hamas while Egypt stepped up its work against smuggling cash into Gaza through tunnels under the ground.

But Nassar said Hamas, which is largely believed to have been getting cash from Iran, still has cash outside Gaza.

This week, Hamas imposed taxes on cigarettes as observers said it reflects its attempt to seek more domestic resources for its budget.

The United States led an international campaign to isolate Hamas since it won 2006 parliamentary elections for not recognizing Israel.

In 2007, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fired Haneya's administration after Hamas seized Gaza by force, while Israel sealed and Egypt cooperated in closing their borders with Gaza except for the movement of humanitarian cases and some supplies in.

But Haneya said the siege could not break his government. "The government has bypassed hard phases and it is now on the doors of an upcoming victory, not only in Gaza, but along the Palestinian land," he said.

Source:Xinhua