Hamas calls unity government to deal with civil workers equally

Hamas yesterday called on the Palestinian unity government to deal equally with the Palestinian civil servants based on unity understandings, Quds Press reported.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu-Zuhri said: “The Palestinian unity government has to deal with the employees recruited by the Hamas government the same way as it is dealing with other employees.”

He added that his movement recruited employees based on the needs of the different ministries during Hamas’s rule. “They [employees] were chosen based on quality and need, not based on political affiliation,” he said.

He called the policy of the unity government regarding dealing with the employees as “absurd”.

The Palestinian unity government has been refusing to pay the salaries of civil workers recruited during Hamas’s rein in Gaza, while it is paying the salaries of employees who left their jobs after Hamas gained control of the Strip in 2007 as part of civil disobedience called by Fatah.