Lately on Friday, Palestinian Authority (PA) employees in the Gaza Strip had finally received their salaries which were denied before Eid festival due to the cash crisis that Gaza Banks suffered, as Israeli side stopped bank dealing few months ago and no cash was allowed to enter for Gaza Banks for months back.

Israel prevented the transfer of cash shipments for two months as a response to Palestinian armed attacks on Israeli targets, such as Sderot and the Negev, near Gaza.

On Thursday, an Israeli armored car had delivered 100 million new Israeli shekels from West Bank financial institutions to the Gaza Strip, though Israeli sources had reported that the cash would not arrive until next week.

Weeks of appeals from Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, as well as financial and humanitarian bigwigs in Palestine and elsewhere, fell on deaf ears until joined by calls from Bank of Israel CEO Stanley Fischer. Fischer joined with Fayyad and made a “personal request” to Defense Minister Ehud Barak prior to the decision.

The transfer, which was approved on Wednesday, still falls short of the 250 million shekels that Fayyad had requested. He said at least that much was needed if banks were to pay the salaries of some 70,000 government employees in Gaza, as well as ensure that social benefits and pensions were paid to injured and retired workers.

Without Barak’s approval the Gaza Strip, which Israel claims to no longer occupy, would have no way of bringing in funds to resuscitate banks.

Currency has flowed out of the strip because of a “cash-only” and “cash-up-front” policy taken by Israeli businesspeople dealing with Gaza merchants. Goods are paid for in shekels but since there is no longer an export business in Gaza on account of the Israeli siege, little currency makes it into the area, taking into account the tunnels business stuff which had withdrawn most of Gaza cash.