The government of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has frozen the salaries of leading parliamentarians from the militant Hamas, including the deposed Prime Minister, as a warning not to "conduct illegal activities," government officials said on Wednesday. The 21 parliamentarians are prominent Hamas members from the Gaza Strip, including ousted premier Ismail Haniyeh, and senior hardline Hamas member, Mahmoud Zahar. They did not receive their usual $3,000 (€2,196) monthly salary at the end of August, although legislators from Abbas' Fatah were paid.
Less-prominent figures among Hamas' 74 lawmakers - including the group's three women delegates in the Gaza Strip - also received their paychecks.