RAMALLAH, April 5, 2012 (WAFA) – Payment of the Palestinian Authority’s March salary for over 180,000 civil and military public employees will be delayed possibly until the middle of this month, said head of the Union of Public Employees Bassam Zakarneh on Thursday.

He told WAFA that the Finance Ministry informed the union that there were “major financial obstacles facing the treasury causing the delay in the payment of salaries.”

He did not explain these obstacles but blamed Arab countries for not coming to the aid of the Palestinian Authority, which is facing serious financial difficulties caused mainly by delays in aid arriving from donor countries.

Zakarneh urged banks to wait on cashing checks from employees until after the salaries are paid and not to charge them for checks without funds.

The finance ministry did not explain the reasons for the delay.

The Palestinian cabinet approved the 2012 budget with $1 billion deficit in current expenditure only two weeks ago, days before it should go into effect to allow the government to continue spending.

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad held talks with various groups, including the Legislative Council, on the budget after which it was sent to President Mahmoud Abbas to ratify it.

M.S.