RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Authority is facing protests from school teachers and lawyers over a number of complaints.
Palestinian sources told Arab News that there could be a doctors’ strike, which would destabilize the PA’s position.
The teachers’ movement called on parents not to send their children to school, and to attend to students only when their demands were met.
Thousands of students returned to their homes on Sunday morning due to the strike.
Omar Muhisen, a science teacher at the Al-Shafi school in Hebron, told Arab News that the strike’s commitment rate in the city had reached 90 percent on Sunday.
“We, as teachers, are living in a difficult situation,” he told Arab News.
“It is not our problem if the prime minister does not succeed in solving the teachers’ salary problem for a whole year,” he said.
Muhysen said that even with the outrageous increase in prices, it was not enough to meet salary expenses by the middle of the month.
They said the strike came after they failed to implement any previously agreed conditions, including 15 per cent bonus starting from the first month of this year, and that the strike would continue until all their demands were met. Goes
Teacher Jamal al-Qaddoumi said that the agreement that was reached stipulated that salaries be regularized and a teachers’ union be established, but this did not happen.
Al-Kaddoumi said that the current salary was not enough to meet teachers’ needs, and that it was not fair for teachers to work a whole month on 85 percent of their salary. He said that half of al-Qaddoumi’s income goes to bank loans, and the other half to bills and obligations.
The Palestinian National Initiative movement, headed by politician Mustafa Barghouthi, called for fairness for teachers in a statement on Sunday, calling for their demands to be met and saving the education system in the interests of students.
It indicates that the education and health sectors are among the most important sectors, adding that male and female teachers have always performed their national and professional duties, and that their role is crucial for building future Palestinian generations. Was.
It stressed the importance of reviewing the public budget and allocating larger budgets to the education, health and social welfare sectors, as they serve the groups most afflicted by poverty and marginalisation.
Shaker Khalil, adviser to the prime minister on economic affairs, told Arab News that the financial crisis besetting the PA is complex, due to declining external support and the high percentage of Israeli occupation deductions from Palestinian funds.
Khalil indicated that foreign aid for the previous year was less than $200 million, and the Israeli occupation’s total deductions from its allocation of martyrs and prisoners since 2019 stood at $584 million.
He added that this adds to the financial crisis of the government and is reflected in the general budget.
In a parallel development, the Palestinian Bar Association shut down work for four days on Sunday, affecting all branches of the judiciary, in protest against amendments to the fee schedule of regular courts.
Ramallah’s lawyer Alaa Khasib told Arab News that doubling the court fees by five times by the PA would make it difficult for citizens to deal with the financial crisis they are going through instead of going to court to prosecute themselves. Prioritize pursuing cases that negatively affect the work of lawyers, of whom there are approximately 12,000 in the West Bank.
Khaseeb indicated that the standard case fee, which was $700, has grown to $3,500, making it impossible for many citizens to pay.
Amer Hamdan, a lawyer and human rights activist from Nablus, told Arab News that the basis of the PA’s problems with teachers and lawyers is poor political decision-making.
They alleged that the PA had increased court fees to obtain money directly from citizens, a move that would force people to go to tribal courts or force their rights to be forfeited.
“The PA decided to go into the pockets of citizens to solve their financial problem,” Hamdan told Arab News.
The Bar Council also pointed out that the judiciary was in crisis as a result of the policies of the executive authority and rejection of the requirements for judicial reforms.