Abbas freezes salaries of dozens of Dahlan supporters in Gaza

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has ordered salary payments of 57 employees in the Gaza Strip be halted over their alleged support for dismissed Fatah member Mohammed Dahlan.

Sources close to the Palestinian president said he plans to continue his action again Dahlan and will ultimately stop paying salaries to some 500 officials who are believed to be close to Dahlan.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that Dahlan and his supporters have threatened to organise demonstrations to support him in the Gaza Strip and other areas in parallel with Fatah’s 7th Congress due on 29 November to undermine its legitimacy.

Dahlan has also held contacts with the Hamas leadership in Gaza to attend one of the events in the Strip but observers believe he has no plans to carry out this threat.

Meanwhile, Abbas has held talks with the Hamas leadership abroad including the head of the organisation’s political bureau Khaled Mashaal to allow 430 Fatah members to attend the Congress in the West Bank.