|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/27/world/middleeast/hamas-fatah-palestinian-salary.html
Issue of Pay for Two Sets of Workers Tugs at Palestinian Unity Pact
(New York Times) Fares Akram and Jodi Rudoren - The 70,000 people employed by the Palestinian Authority in Gaza before Hamas wrested control of it in 2007 do not go to work but continue to be paid by the PA. To replace them, Hamas hired 42,000 new workers, who were not paid in April and May. The Palestinian prime minister insists he does not have enough money to pay both sets of workers and cannot risk the wrath of donor countries by funneling donated funds to anyone affiliated with Hamas. On Thursday, the union representing the Hamas workers called for a general strike to protest the pay situation. The inability to pay salaries was a prime reason Hamas agreed to reconciliation terms it had repeatedly rejected before.