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Sunday, September 28, 2014
Hamas: plan for entry of construction materials must not "harm the dignity of the Palestinian people"

Hamas: Govt has agreed to pay all salaries without 'discrimination'
Published today (updated) 28/09/2014 11:42
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=730408

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A senior Hamas official said on Saturday that the
Palestinian consensus government had agreed to cover the salaries of all
employees of the former Hamas government in Gaza without "discrimination."

The statements came only hours after Palestinian Prime Minister Rami
Hamdallah said earlier Saturday that an unnamed international body was
willing to pay the salaries of civil servants in Gaza who were employed by
the former Hamas-run government in the Strip, potentially removing one of
the major stumbling blocks to national unity.

Hamas official Mahmoud Zahhar told Ma'an that according to the new agreement
signed on Thursday, all public sector employee hired by the Hamas-run
government in Gaza after June 2007 would be recognized as employees of the
national consensus government regardless of the nature of their work.

The agreement, he added, does not differentiate between civil service
employees and military employees, and thus they all "should receive monthly
salaries from the Palestinian Authority without discrimination."

He added that security service employees had maintained security in the Gaza
Strip since 2007 and for that reason they should not be treated differently.

Representatives of Hamas and Fatah met on Thursday in Cairo in an effort to
fully implement a reconciliation agreement signed in April enabling the work
of the Palestinian national consensus government, which emerged from the
agreement but has thus far been unable to function on the ground in the Gaza
Strip.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to the government's work has been the
issue of public sector employee salaries. Since the political division
between Hamas and Fatah began in 2007, Hamas ran a separate government in
the Gaza Strip with its own civil service of around 45,000.

During this time, however, the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority has continued
paying its employees in the Gaza Strip, despite the fact that the PA was no
longer operative. Since the unity agreement was signed, it has been unclear
who will pay the employees of the former Hamas government, and although
Qatar stepped in for a few months, until now both Hamas and Fatah have
blamed each other.

Zahhar said that it was agreed on Thursday to appoint a special committee to
be tasked with studying the nature of work of each employee and to determine
their position on the career ladder.

Hamas 'welcomes' reconstruction plans

Zahhar also addressed the reconstruction of Gaza in his comments to Ma'an,
saying that Hamas welcomes any mechanism to help ship construction materials
to Gaza and adding that the recent agreement with Fatah would open the door
to the rebuilding of the battered coastal enclave.

He said that the recent reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah
would lay the grounds for Gaza reconstruction without delay and would also
help work out a solution to the problem of Gaza's only exit to the world,
the Rafah crossing into Egypt.

He also said that Hamas welcomes any plan to ensure construction materials
reach Gaza, as long as it does "doesn't harm the dignity of the Palestinian
people."

Zahhar's statements come amid increasing anger at the slow pace of
reconstruction, as more than 100,000 Palestinians remain homeless in the
wake of Israel's most violent assault on the Gaza Strip in memory.

Due to the seven-year old Israeli blockade, very little construction
material has thus far entered, while Egypt's enforcement of the siege from
its side as well has prevented much of the needed rebuilding.

Zahhar stressed, however, that the movement was working with United Nations
and Fatah to solve the crisis.

Hamas officials, he said, met in Cairo with United Nations Special
Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry before meeting
with representatives of Fatah.

"Bring construction material into Gaza the way you see appropriate, because
it is important to rebuild the houses demolished by the occupation," Zahhar
said.

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