PA ‘told bank to close account’ of Palestinian MP

A Palestinian MP in the occupied West Bank belonging to the Fatah movement has been told by her bank that her account has been closed “at the request of the Palestinian Authority,” 24news.ps has reported. Najat Abu-Baker said that the bank called to tell her that the PA had also asked for the money in the account — through which she receives her salary — to be returned to the government in Ramallah.

This news comes in the wake of the PA ministry of finance cutting the salaries of MPs loyal to ousted Fatah official Mohamed Dahlan in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Earlier this week, the PA also cut the salaries of MPs from the Change and Reform bloc in the Palestinian legislature. The salaries of MPs representing the bloc, which is loyal to Hamas, in the Gaza Strip were cut by the Fatah-dominated PA as long ago as 2007.

According to Abu-Baker, she had no official notice from the ministry that her salary was being cut. She insisted that she will appeal against the move. “I am sure that justice will not be achieved, though, as there is no respect for the law here,” she said.

Read:  PA cuts salaries of 47 MPs in occupied West Bank

Although she was elected as a Fatah MP in the occupied West Bank, Najat Abu-Baker has been an outspoken critic of the corruption of PA officials in Ramallah. She has been interrogated by the security services on several occasions. At the end of last year, the PA and Fatah President Mahmoud Abbas revoked the parliamentarian immunity of five Fatah MPs, including Abu-Baker.

“MPs are respected all over the world,” she pointed out, “and their salaries must not be affected by political differences.” She added that she was elected by the people to represent them, so she will never give up, even if her salary is cut.