Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud AbbasIssam Rimawi/Flash 90

While the Palestinian Authority (PA) has often been touted as a peaceful alternate to Hamas by some, a Hamas MP in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) has revealed just how involved the PA is in funding terrorism.

The MP, Yahi Musa, stated that the PA government in Samaria's Ramallah has paid a total sum of $5 billion in wages over the course of the last eight years.

According to Musa, the number of workers in the public sector that are registered with the employment office stands at 175,000, but the total number of people who receive wages and stipends from the government is no less than 200,000.

He noted the extra 25,000 people on the paylist include "martyrs" - meaning the families of Arab terrorists killed while engaged in attacks, as well as those who were wounded while taking part in conflict, security prisoners - namely jailed terrorists, as well as released security prisoners.

Musa added that according to statistics from the PLC's finance ministry, every month $160-170 million is paid in salaries, with the average monthly wage standing at $750, a figure not too far from Israel's minimum wage.

The number of workers in the civilian public sector who are paid by the Ramallah government reaches 25,577 clerks, while the "workers in the military field" number nearly 30,000, he said.

As far as Gaza is concerned, the Hamas MP stated that every month the PA government in Ramallah pays public workers in Gaza a total of over $41 million,

If the wages of "martyrs," wounded, jailed terrorists and released security prisoners are added, he noted that the total reaches around $50 million.

From the latter figure it becomes clear that the PA is paying roughly $10 million a month in wages to Gaza terrorists.

The statistics give further evidence to the fact that not only do PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and his organizations glorify terrorism, they also play an active role in funding and conducting attacks.

The revelation by a Hamas MP comes amid high tensions between the terror organization and Abbas's Fatah, with Hamas demanding the wages of its public employees in Gaza be paid by the unity government formed by the factions roughly a year ago, a demand that has continued to go unanswered. The PA continues to pay its own employees in Gaza.