Will the West Fund Hamas?

by Khaled Abu Toameh • June 9, 2014 at 5:00 am

One thing is certain: both Hamas and Fatah are hoping to use the unity government as a ploy to attract financial aid from the international community, particularly Western donors. The unity government, which is backed by Fatah and the U.S.-terrorist-designated organization Hamas, actually serves both parties as a front for receiving funds from the international community.

Hamas "civil servants" in the streets of Gaza. (Image source: YouTube video)

Less than a week after its inauguration, the Hamas-Fatah unity government is already facing its first crisis as it remains unclear which party will pay salaries to tens of thousands of Hamas employees in the Gaza Strip.

It turns out that Hamas was hoping that the reconciliation deal it signed with Fatah in April, which led to the formation of the unity government, would absolve the Islamist movement of its financial obligations toward its employees.

That plan was, in fact, the main reason Hamas agreed to the reconciliation accord with Fatah. Over the past few years, Hamas has been facing a severe financial crisis, particularly in the wake of Egypt's decision to destroy smuggling tunnels along its border with the Gaza Strip.

Hamas says that the new unity government is responsible for paying the salaries of its employees, but Fatah and Palestinian Authority [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas insist that this is not their responsibility.

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Iran: Imprisoned Christian Pastor Missing in Prison

by Shadi Paveh • June 9, 2014 at 4:30 am

Human rights activists fear that Behnam Irani was taken to be beaten or tortured and left to die over time from his injuries by being denied medical care -- a method known as "silent executions." These are what the regime uses to murder many political prisoners without increasing its execution count. The authorities simply report the prisoner died of "natural causes."

Christian Pastor Behnam Irani, imprisoned in Iran since 2010.

Behnam Irani, an imprisoned Christian Pastor, was forcibly removed from his cell at 6:30 a.m. on June 7, 2014. He was apparently told that he was being taken for court proceedings and that he would be returned shortly. He was never taken to court or returned to his cell; his family and cellmates fear for his safety. His whereabouts are unknown and all information about him being withheld from his family.

Irani was sentenced in February 2008 to a five year suspended prison sentence for his Christian activities and proselytizing Muslims, referred to as charges of "acting against national security." Then, on April 14, 2010, security forces raided his home, beat him in front of his family, and arrested him. He was sentenced to an additional year by the courts; bringing his sentence to a total of 6 years, and was serving his sentence in Karaj Central Prison.

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