Rafah, Gaza Strip ? Hours after angry civil servants stormed parliament, the Palestinian foreign minister came back Wednesday from a trip to Muslim nations carrying luggage stuffed with $20 million in cash for his money-starved government.

With hardships growing daily for Palestinians, dozens of the civil servants burst into the parliament building in the West Bank to demand their overdue salaries. They threw water bottles, tissue boxes and other small items at Hamas lawmakers and forced the parliament speaker to flee.

The second attack on the parliament this week, along with the shooting death of a Hamas gunman in the Gaza Strip, cast doubt on renewed efforts by leaders of the rival Fatah and Hamas parties to halt infighting.

Tensions have been high since Hamas defeated Fatah in legislative elections in January. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Fatah leader who was elected last year, has been in a power struggle with the Islamic group. Twenty-two people have been killed in factional fighting in recent weeks.

Abbas, a moderate, has been pressuring Hamas to accept a proposal that implicitly recognizes Israel. He has endorsed the plan as a way to restart peace talks and lift crippling international sanctions that have rendered the government unable to pay salaries that sustain one-third of the Palestinian population.

But instead of supporting Abbas’ proposal, Hamas has turned to the Muslim world for help.

Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas member, returned to Gaza after visiting Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, China, Pakistan, Iran and Egypt. Palestinian security officials said Zahar was carrying $20 million, which was turned over to the Palestinian treasury and would probably be used to pay salaries, officials said.

Hamas claims it has raised more than $60 million from Muslim and Arab countries. But U.S. pressure on international banks has prevented them from transferring the money into the Palestinian territories.