Mr Haniya said his administration found that it had empty coffers and mounting debt.
"The Ministry of Finance has inherited an entirely empty treasury, in addition to the debts of the ministry and the government in general," said Mr Haniya, also a senior leader of the Islamic militant group.
Palestinian Finance Minister Omar Abdel-Razeq said his government is hoping to receive $US80 million ($A111.26 million) from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates to help pay March salaries for the Palestinian Authority's 140,000 employees.
Mr Haniya said the cash crisis was caused in large part by cuts in Israeli tax revenue transfers after Hamas won election in January.
Further aid cuts
The new Palestinian government is facing Western isolation and further cuts in administration aid unless it recognises Israel, renounces violence and accepts interim peace accords.
Hamas has previously expressed confidence it would make up for any cash shortfalls with aid from Iran and other Muslim nations.
Mr Haniya gave no figures on the Authority's debts, and Mr Abdel-Razeq said he is not sure when the PA might secure funds from the Arab nations.
March salaries totalling about $US118 million ($A164.11 million) were scheduled to be paid earlier this week.
"We have promises, but efforts are needed to make the promises real," said Mr Haniya. "We are making every effort to pay the government employees despite the financial crisis."
Hamas has vowed never to recognise Israel, but has offered a long term truce if the Jewish state withdraws fully from land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.
The Quartet of Middle East mediators, the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia, has threatened to cut direct aid to the PA unless Hamas abandons its charter call for Israel's destruction.
A Palestinian diplomat at the UN raised hope of a breakthrough on Tuesday by saying Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas member, had written of two-state co-existence as a solution to the Middle East conflict.
But a Hamas official in Gaza called the Zahar letter a mix up, telling Reuters that an older version of the letter was sent in mistake. Changes made included deleting references to the two-state solution.
Israeli government closer
Meanwhile, Israel will move closer to forming its own new government on Thursday when President Moshe Katsav asks interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to build a coalition.
Mr Olmert's centrist Kadima Party won most seats in elections last week, but not a majority.
Final results show that Kadima won 29 seats in the 120-seat parliament.
Mr Olmert will have six weeks to form a government after he is formally asked to do so, and will have to find several coalition partners.
Earlier this week, he confirmed that the left-centre Labour Party, which supports his plan to withdraw from the West Bank, would be his senior coalition partner in government.