The new Hamas-led Palestinian government is struggling to find a bank willing to handle its finances, casting doubt on whether it can pay staff or receive foreign aid, Western diplomats and Palestinian officials said.
"You cannot run a government without having a bank," said a Palestinian official familiar with the Palestinian Authority's "single treasury account", where foreign donors deposit funds so the Authority can pay 140,000 workers and cover other expenses.
A Western diplomatic source said Hamas's difficulties in even finding a banker could "disrupt the entire payment system".
Officials of Hamas, which is listed by Washington and the EU as a terrorist organisation and whose charter calls for Israel's destruction
I don't feel a bit sorry for them. Disavow terrorism or go bankrupt. Nuff said.