What's A Couple Hundred Million Among Friends?

The Jerusalem Post reports that - according to a London-based newspaper - Iran has agreed to allot $250 million to the Palestinian Authority. The money is meant to replace funding that has been cut off by Israel. Some Hamas officials are claiming that the story is inaccurate, but only as to the specific amount and terms, which they say have not been determined yet. According to most accounts, the funding cut off by Israel works out to about $50 million a month, so we are talking about 5 months worth of funding. Such a cash infusion would most certainly avert the short-term financial crisis the PA was openly worrying about. The Iranian deal is, of course, much more sympathetic to Hamas's needs than the European one, which bypasses the PA and therefore Hamas.

For more on Iran's agreement to fund the PA and Hamas see here.

See here and here for more on how this story has developed.