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The Palestinian government in Gaza has announced that it will employ 5,000 graduates from Gaza universities for a full year under the temporary employment clause.
In a press conference on Tuesday in Gaza, government spokesperson, Taher Al-Nounu, said that the government would start employing the graduates as part of its efforts to lessen unemployment.
He pointed out that the government had instructed the Ministry of Public Work and the Ministry of Housing, as well as local authorities to begin the reconstruction of what was destroyed by the occupation during their most recent attacks on the Strip last November.
On another note, Al-Nounu expressed his astonishment at attempts by Egyptian media to involve Palestinians in the internal events of Egypt and stressed that such attempts aim to tarnish the image of Palestinians, fuel emotions, and start false battles. He emphasized that, “everything being said in this context is nothing but slander, lies, and misleading claims spread by dubious media sources in an effort to drive a wedge between Palestine and Egypt.”
Al-Nounu also pointed out that the government has repeatedly stressed that it does not interfere with any internal Egyptian affairs, and that it supports Egypt in becoming a strong and cohesive country. Moreover, it calls on the Egyptian media to screen for accuracy and stop spreading such biased rumours.
Furthermore, there is the position of the United Nations in regards to investigation of the Israeli occupation’s use of combat drones in Palestinian assassinations. Al-Nounu asserts that such investigations will unveil many of Israel’s crimes that violate international and humanitarian law.
The government also stressed the need to punish the occupation for such crimes, hold them accountable, and deter them from using forbidden means and weapons against the Palestinians.
On a separate note, Al-Nounu noted that the Palestinian government, in coordination with the Ministry of National Economy, had decided to allow raw materials without notifications in as part of an effort to support the national economy and sewing factories. It also decided to exempt them from customs taxes and to exempt sewing factories from income tax from previous years as well as the upcoming year.
He also pointed out that the government has decided to provide all facilitations regarding VAT by pardoning all fines due from previous years, and easing the process for the granting of clearances and the opening of new files.
As for the issue of Palestinian refugees in Syria, Al-Nounu called for immediate and effective action to prevent the continued targeting of refugees and to provide all forms of humanitarian support to improve their living conditions.
Al-Nounu also asserted the need to continue public and official efforts of solidarity with the prisoners detained in Israeli jails in order to rally all national and international energy to benefit the moral issue of prisoners.
Furthermore, Al-Nounu called on international organizations, especially the United Nations, to take effective action to stop the Israeli violations against the prisoners, especially those on hunger strikers.
The government praised the efforts of the Government Press Office in establishing an official news agency called “The Palestine Media Opinion Agency” which will be launched at the beginning of next month.
MEMO Photographer: Mohammed Asad