Palestinian police protest lack of pay
JERUSALEM – In a new outbreak of unrest in the Gaza Strip, thousands of unpaid members of the Palestinian police force staged a noisy protest on Thursday outside the parliament building, firing guns in the air, hurling stones and denouncing the Hamas-run government.
The Palestinian Authority on Thursday missed its third monthly payroll in a row, deepening the hardship for 165,000 government workers who have gone without salaries since March.
The government, which was already strapped for cash when Hamas took over in late March, is close to financial collapse due to a dramatic drop in international aid over Hamas’ refusal to recognize Israel.
Nearly half of those who have gone unpaid are members of the security forces, and most of them are loyal to the Fatah faction defeated by Hamas in January parliamentary elections. The cutoff of salaries has been a key factor in strife between armed elements within Hamas and Fatah.
About 2,000 members of the security forces took part in Thursday’s protests, waving signs saying, “Ninety days without pay is enough!” Some scaled the building walls, draped banners from the roof and smashed windows.
Police, either from Fatah-affiliated forces or the Hamas militia that took to the streets of Gaza last month, made no move to intervene. Many of the protesters were members of the Preventive Security force, a branch loyal to Fatah that has been involved in some of the most violent clashes with Hamas gunmen.
The Hamas-led government said earlier this week that it scraped together the funds to pay about one-quarter of the government workers – those who make the lowest wages, of less than $350 a month. But it was not clear when those payouts would be made.
Government salaries sustain nearly one-third of the population, and most schools and hospitals are staffed with civil servants.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a relative moderate with Fatah who supports peace talks with Israel, is trying to force Hamas to ease its stance and get aid flowing again.
If Fatah and Hamas can’t agree on a political platform by next Tuesday, Abbas has said he will hold a territory-wide referendum that calls for the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, in effect recognizing Israel. Polls have suggested that such a referendum would pass.