Hamas Minister Loses $450,000 In Kuwait Hotel Room

Mahmoud al-Zahar speaking to reporters in Damascus last week. (AP)

A Hamas Minister managed to lose $450,000 while on a visit to Kuwait. You heard right: FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. It was supposedly "stolen" from his Hotel Room.

I am positive the minister was going to use the money to pay some of the salaries of government employees manually.

And they expect more donations from Gulf countries...

Here is the full article (from Haaretz) :

$450,000 said stolen from PA foreign minister during visit to Kuwait
By Haaretz Service

Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar has had $450,000 stolen from his hotel room during his current visit to Kuwait, the Itim news agency quoted the Kuwaiti media as saying Wednesday.

According to the report, al-Zahar had asked the Kuwaiti authorities to keep the theft under wraps, but the incident was confirmed by a security official at the hotel.

The foreign minister, a senior member of Hamas, is on a tour of Arab and Muslim countries to drum up funds after Israel suspended the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority and Western donors cut off aid to the Hamas-led government.

The European Union and the United States have cut off direct aid to the Palestinian Authority over Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by previously signed peace agreements.

Itim also reported that an official at the Palestinian Finance Ministry has revealed that, despite its empty coffers, the PA has funded the trip for al-Zahar and his entourage.