Haniyeh: Salary cuts for Gaza employees ‘liquidate’ Palestinian cause

Hamas Deputy Chief in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh condemned the salary cut enforced by the Palestinian Authority (PA) on its employees in Gaza, stressing this is part of an international scenario to “liquidate” the Palestinian cause, Al-Resalah newspaper reported yesterday.

Speaking at the inauguration of Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani Mosque, Haniyeh said:

I am not exaggerating if I said that this is part of an international conspiracy prepared behind closed doors.

He reiterated that his is standing and supporting the PA employees, stressing that “it is not acceptable to touch the livelihood of the families of the PA employees.”

Addressing the PA leadership, Haniyeh said: “To those who have been calling for us to end the internal division, do not take decisions that reinforce the division and the social separation.”

Read: Thousands gather in Gaza as protests continue against PA salary cuts

“Since the call for civil disobedience, we have decided not to touch the PA employees based on moral and humanitarian principles.”

Last week PA employees in Gaza found that their salaries had been cut by at least 30 per cent. The government said this was part of necessary budget cuts but critics pointed out that the cuts only affected employees in the besieged Gaza Strip not those in the occupied West Bank.