Hamas Gives Cash To Gazans, But Less Than Promised

`Why don`t we just wait,` he added of Hamas`s pledge of 4,000 euros. `They made promises. Let`s see if they deliver.`

Hamas Islamists have started handing out cash to some families who lost homes in Israel's 22-day offensive in the Gaza Strip, but the amounts have so far fallen far short of what was promised by the group.

The payments are part of efforts by Hamas to shore up its standing in the impoverished coastal enclave, where despite a sense of solidarity in adversity, some victims question the tactics of their Islamist rulers in firing cross-border rockets that Israel cited as justification for using overwhelming force.

Some 1,300 Palestinians were killed in the three-week bombardment. About 5,000 homes were destroyed, along with much of the Gaza Strip's economic infrastructure.

Families in at least two devastated central Gaza villages, Johr el-Deek and Mughraqa, told Reuters they received $1,000 in cash -- in $100 banknotes -- and that Hamas had assured them it was only a preliminary downpayment to buy essentials.

Hamas publicly committed to paying each family whose home was destroyed five times that amount in euro-denominated banknotes -- 4,000 euros, worth $5,180 -- starting on Sunday, but government officials said on Monday they needed more time.

Sobhi al-Shaweesh, whose family farm in the village of Johr al-Deek was pulverised by Israeli bulldozers and tank fire, welcomed assistance but was dismissive of the $1,000 grant, estimating the cost of restoring his substantial home and surrounding family properties at a hefty $500,000.

"If Hamas gives us everything they promised, it's still nothing," he said, standing next to his flattened cow shed and citrus groves. "It's enough for two cows. I lost seven."

SEEKING POST-WAR CREDIT

Shunned by Western powers for refusing to renounce violence and recognise Israel, Hamas appears eager to follow the lead of Hezbollah. At the end of its 2006 war with Israel, the Lebanese guerrilla group pumped money into rebuilding to bolster its standing, undercutting a Western-backed government in Beirut.

It is too soon to tell whether Hamas can do the same in Gaza, which is largely cut off from the outside world, denying it the same ready access to cash and arms from foreign backers.

Washington wants credit for reconstruction to accrue to the Palestinian Authority, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, rather than Hamas, which like Hezbollah, receives support from Iran.

The problem with the American plan is that Abbas, whose secular Fatah forces were run out of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 when Hamas took over, is not even in the game.

Western diplomats say Israel has made it harder, blocking Abbas's West Bank-based government from transferring cash to Gaza to pay his work force and others hit hard by the war.

"There are concerns that Hamas will take over the funds," an Israeli official said of letting Abbas send cash. Israel has, however, let small amounts in for U.N. and Red Cross staff.

Israeli defence official Peter Lerner said his ministry had yet to receive an "official request" to transfer funds from Abbas's government, an assertion flatly denied by the Palestine Monetary Authority and senior Western diplomats working with it.

It was not immediately clear why Hamas paid only a portion of the money it promised. "We are in the process of assessing the damages and, God willing, it may happen in the coming couple of days," Ahmed al-Kurd, Hamas's welfare minister, said.

Western diplomats believe Hamas built up large cash reserves before the war, but may be trying to conserve that stockpile.

The war ended with Israel still in control of all of Gaza's commercial crossings. Israel believes its bombing runs destroyed most of the smuggling tunnels that criss-crossed Gaza's border with Egypt, making it harder for Hamas to bring in new supplies.

Western diplomats said Israel's strategy, by limiting imports of cash and cutting off access to the tunnels, appeared to be to create a liquidity crisis inside Gaza to make it harder for the Hamas government to cover its swelling post-war payroll.

SOME DEFER FOR NOW

In Mughraqa village, not everybody got $1,000 but Hamas rented out a building for the homeless to sleep. Residents said the building had no running water or electricity.

"When the minister came to the village, people ran after him so they could get their names on the register," said 52-year-old Awni al-Dalu, a father of nine whose house was completely flattened. "I didn't run -- out of pride and out of anger," al-Dalu said. He has received nothing yet from Hamas.

The group did hand $1,000 to many of Dalu's neighbours, including Khalil Rajab al-Yazji, who lived with two other families in a house blasted open on Jan. 17, just after Israel announced a ceasefire but before it took effect.

Asked if he was satisfied with the $1,000 payment he would split with his former house-mates, Yazji, aged 55, deferred: "I'm satisfied with the reality on the ground. What else can I do?" He said he needed $15,000 to $20,000 to rebuild.

Neither Yazji and Shaweesh voted in a 2006 Palestinian election in which Abbas's Fatah faction was beaten by Hamas.

Asked if the money would tempt him to vote for Hamas in a future poll, Yazji said: "I'm not going to vote for anyone. As long as we're under occupation, elections are useless."

When Shaweesh was asked his view of Hamas, he said: "The question which still awaits an answer is why this all happened? Israel says this is because of the rockets, and Hamas says this is in response to the Israeli attacks."

"Why don't we just wait," he added of Hamas's pledge of 4,000 euros. "They made promises. Let's see if they deliver."