NABLUS, West Bank -- Buying on credit. Selling gold dowries. Forgoing tobacco and other small pleasures. With their salaries weeks overdue and savings depleted, Palestinian families are finding creative ways to survive the Hamas-led government's deepening financial crisis. Even banks and utilities are helping out by allowing customers to overdraw accounts or pay bills late.Experts warn that a dire economic crisis is looming.
''This month, no one paid me,'' said Kifayeh al-Ashkar, 40, who cleans houses for government workers in Nablus. ''The government can't pay the salaries of its workers, and the workers can't pay me.'' She said she now feeds her four children plain rice, and has been forced to beg for handouts of milk.
The financial crunch follows the January legislative election victory of Hamas, an Islamic militant group sworn to Israel's destruction. After the new government was sworn in last month, the Palestinian economy, already battered by five years of fighting with Israel, took a turn for the worse.
Western donors who accuse Hamas of supporting terrorism cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, and Israel suspended monthly payments of tax money it collects for the Palestinians. Without these funds the government is broke and unable to pay its 165,000 salaried workers. No one got paid April 1, and the next pay day is less than a week away.
''Life has changed drastically. I don't know how to manage,'' said Elham Yassin, 48, a teacher. Yassin, a mother of seven, earns $500 a month, while her husband, also a teacher, makes about $550. She said the family got a loan from her sister and is subsisting on bread, yogurt and other staples. ''I don't know where things are going. We don't have any savings. I'm afraid for the future of my family,'' she said.
The Palestinian Authority is the largest employer in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the loss of these salaries has rippled out. ''This money has played the role of a lifeline to the economy,'' said Samir Abdullah, a Palestinian economist. With so many people living on credit, he said, ''We will see people on the streets very soon.'' He also predicted increased hostility toward the West, public unrest and even renewed fighting with Israel if the situation continues much longer.
In an area where unemployment hovers around 25 percent, people with government jobs typically support extended families, and many private businesses rely on customers who work for the government.
Hamas officials have refused to cave in to Western pressure to renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist. Instead, it has turned to Arab and Muslim countries for help. It has raised about $70 million, enough to cover about half of the salary payments, but has been unable to transfer the money to the Palestinian areas. It claims local banks are afraid to handle the money, fearing U.S. financial sanctions.
Hamas officials say the Palestinians would rather face starvation than give up their principles. ''All of the Palestinians are standing together,'' said government spokesman Ghazi Hamad. ''The government has repeatedly affirmed that we are not going to compromise.''
But the people are growing weary. Sami Abu Atta, 33, a driver for the Public Works Ministry in Gaza, said he has quit his pack-a-day smoking habit to save money. ''I don't know what to do. Even if I want to start working as a thief, there is no one to rob,'' he said.
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