Since November 2021, the Palestinian Authority government has cut down salaries of employees due to a financial crisis caused by the Israeli occupation which deducts part of the taxes, and the decline of international financial aids.
Palestinian trade unions announced new actions against the government, demanding that salaries be paid in full and that the commitments agreed upon be fulfilled.
This came in separate statements by the Union of Palestinian Teachers, Unions of Journalists, Engineers, Health Professions, and Doctors.
The Teachers Union announced an open strike including teachers not going to public schools in the West Bank and Jerusalem, education directorates, and the Ministry building, starting today, Tuesday, until a new statement is issued.
The teachers are calling for the implementation of an agreement signed with the Palestinian government to pay full salaries and pay a 15 percent bonus, while engineers demanded 30 percent.
The Journalists Syndicate announced the escalation of its protests against the PA government, until its demands are met, and said in a statement that it was “surprised by the government’s decision to respond to part of the demands of the professional unions, and to ignore the rights of journalists, despite promises made more than four years ago.”
The Syndicate of Doctors and Health Professions said, “After the government’s failure to adhere to the initiatives, we are no longer bound by any agreement that does not meet the terms signed between the Doctors Syndicate and the government.”
For over two years the Israeli occupation has been confiscating about 14.5 million dollars every month from Palestinian tax funds, which recently increased to more than 17.5 million dollars.
The occupation government claims that this money is equivalent to the social assistance the Palestinian Authority pays monthly to the families of Palestinian prisoners and victims.
In 2022, the average clearance funds received by the Palestinian government after Israeli deductions amounted to $231 million per month.
