In a joint press statement with the Association of Banks, the West Bank-based PMA denounced the raid, which was carried out following a Hamas court order to release funds belonging to a charity that had been frozen by the Palestinian Authority.

"This kind of irresponsible behavior will reduce the ability of banks to provide services that relieve the suffering of our besieged people in Gaza," the authority said in a statement announcing the one-day strike.

The monetary authority refuses to have any dealings with the Hamas movement, in part because it is blacklisted as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.

The National Islamic Bank, Gaza's sole financial institution affiliated with Hamas and not the monetary authority, remained open.

On Sunday, Hamas police seized the cash at gunpoint from tellers.

A spokesman for Hamas police said the raid followed after the bank refused to implement a court order to release the funds to the new board of directors of a charity.

Palestinian sources said the PMA froze the charity’s assets as part of an anti-money laundering campaign.

In March, Hamas seized $ 400,000 from Bank of Palestine, citing similar situation in which the PMA shut the account of a medical NGO after Hamas took over it.

In May, the Arab Bank closed the branches of Gaza City and Khan Younis "due to hard work conditions in Gaza Strip."

Hamas and the Palestinian Authority dominated by President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement have been fiercely divided since the Islamist group seized power in Gaza in June 2007 following months of unrest.

The two rival governments operate separate ministries and courts, and each considers the other to be illegitimate.

— With input from agencies