Monday, May 02, 2011

Hamas Income - Milllions of Millions

The following chart, according to Ehud Ya'ari and Eyal Ofer in their Maariv investigative Hebrew article of April 22, represents the income of the Hamas administrative apparatus in Gaza


Categories (starting from the right-side column, top to bottom)

Cigarette and Petrol tax from Egypt
Tax on cars and other luxury items
Annual vehicle registration
Income tax on PA salaries

Business tax
Tunnels tax
Black market income, Islamic Bank, Insurance comopany
Rental income of construction equipment

VAT on commerce from Israel
Various excises
Control of aid and charity donations
Pensions from PA

Protection monies and fines
Business ventures, hotels, real estate, fish farms
Non-monetary income from businesses

The Hamas government income has increased 13-fold over the past five years of "blockade".  Hamas pays salaries of 40,000 employees, of whom 21,000 are armed personnel a sum they estimate at $250,000,000 annually.  Hamas claims to expend $30,000,000 each year of activities in eastern Jerusalem.

The PA banking system transfers $1,800,000,000 to Gaza each year since 2007.  Iran donates $100,000,000.

The piece, as far as I can read, doesn't provide a final sum and the numbers in the chart represent percentages.  But they assert that Hamas has circumvented all attempts to restrict its financial activity and the economic status of the Gaza Strip is not at all critical and in fact, relatively the opposite.


UPDATE

The English-language version is now online here.
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