Hamas ministers get partial salaries from Abbas

JERUSALEM, July 26 (Reuters) Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, members of his cabinet and the security services they control received part of their unpaid salaries this week from President Mahmoud Abbas's office, officials said today.

The payments by Abbas -- totaling about half of one month's salary -- came despite a US-led campaign to deny funds to the leaders of the government controlled by the Islamic militant group, whose charter calls for Israel's destruction. US officials were not immediately available to comment.

''The payment was made to all government employees, from the ministers down to the lowest ranking employee,'' a senior Finance Ministry official told Reuters.

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