Gaza: We have not received a penny from PA since reconciliation

Gaza’s Ministry of Education said yesterday that it has not received any funds from the Palestinian Authority (PA) government since the signing of the reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas in October last year.

Undersecretary of the Ministry Ziad Thabet said that the PA government has not paid a single penny to the Ministry of Education in Gaza since then.

In statements to Quds Press Thabet denied allegations by the PA Minister of Education and Higher Education Sabri Saidam that $27 million had been paid to the ministry’s employees in Gaza after being collected from students and school canteens.

Thabet pointed out that Gaza’s Ministry of Finance is only able to pay a small part of the Ministry of Education’s financial allocations which is never enough. He continued to say that this negatively affects the educational process.

The Palestinian official asked the Ramallah-based PA government to secure the necessary operational budget for Gaza’s Ministry of Education so that it can perform its tasks to the fullest extent possible.

Gaza ministries suspended work for several hours yesterday in protest at the PA government’s failure to assume its responsibilities toward the Palestinian people in Gaza.