GAZA CITY, Nov 28: Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar of Hamas carried by hand $20 million in cash into the Gaza Strip on today across its border with Egypt, a Palestinian security source said.

Zahar and other senior Hamas officials have resorted to carrying cash across the Rafah border crossing to bypass a Western ban on bank transfers to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.

Zahar was returning to the impoverished coastal strip after a more than two-week-long tour of the Middle East that included a stop in Iran. During his visit to Tehran, Zahar said Iran had donated $120 million to the Hamas-led government and was ready to give more.

He did not, as required, declare the money to European monitors at the Rafah crossing, a spokeswoman for the monitors said.

The Rafah border crossing with Egypt is controlled by Palestinian guards loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah.

Europeans monitor operations there under an agreement between the Palestinians and Israel, which pulled troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip last year.—Reuters