GAZA, June 5 (UPI) -- Arab Bank branches closed their doors Monday and refused to disburse the salaries of employees of the Palestinian Authority, bringing tensions to a boil.
Witnesses said the bank's employees closed the gates of the branches in front of angry PA employees who were protesting against not receiving their salaries, as did their colleagues who cash their paychecks at other banks.
On Sunday, certain Palestinian banks began to pay the salaries of low-income employees -- numbering more than 40,000 people -- while the Palestinian government decided to immediately disburse salaries that do not exceed 1500 Israeli shekels ($335).
The Arab Bank's branches in Gaza were attacked by unknown gunmen, prompting the bank to refrain from paying salaries directly, opting instead for payments through mail.
At least four Palestinian military wings Sunday warned Palestinian banks against taking part in the economic siege imposed on the Palestinian government, formed by Hamas following its victory in January's elections.
The Association of Palestinian Banks carried a statement in Palestinian newspapers saying "they acknowledge the financial crisis suffered by the Palestinian people and condemn strongly the unjust economic siege."
The United States has threatened Arab banks with sanctions and penalties if they deal with the Hamas-led government.
Elsewhere on Monday, Hamas gunmen broke into the Palestinian television building in the city of Khan Younes in Gaza smashing equipment.
Witnesses said the gunmen returning from the funerals of two of their colleagues killed Sunday by security forces raided the television premises chanting against the Palestinian Authority's policies and accusing its officials of being traitors.
"Unfortunately the gunmen from Hamas destroyed the contents of the building including cameras and the main equipment for broadcasting and transmission," the station's director general Mohammed Dahoudi told United Press International.
"It is a cowardly action which we condemn and denounce," Dahoudi added.
