(ICSPR) EXPRESS ITS CONCERN ABOUT THE POTENTIAL NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES FOR PA EMPLOYEES RETURN TO WORK IN GAZA STRIP.
The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights followed with deep concern the Palestinian Cabinet decision which was taken at its weekly session no. 180 that was held on Tuesday28 November 2017 stated the PA employees to return back to work in their former posts before 14 June 2007.
The resolution also mandated the ministers to return to work through mechanisms that ensure activating the role and work of the Government in the southern provinces as part of the actual empowerment to achieve reconciliation in line with the Cairo agreement. The Board considered that the specialty of the administrative legal Committee is considering employees affairs hired after14 June 2007 and the Committee s work comes to complement government efforts for achieving of the national reconciliation efforts.
ICSPR emphasizes that the Palestinians especially in Gaza looking for the Palestinian Government to move forward to address all the problems in internal division chiefly to find legal and realistic solutions to ensure halting the impact of the presidential and governmental sanctions against Gaza Strip employees and ensure finding legal solutions to all issues which leading to regain the trust of the Palestinian people in political constitutional and legal system in order to enable citizens to exercise their rights public and private freedoms including their right to choose their representatives through free and fair elections.
ICSPR emphasizing the need for the Government to exercise its functions and responsibilities in the Gaza Strip to ensure the restructuring and consolidation of institutions and ensure that national professional and legal policies and plans guarantee redressing the effects of the division in accordance with a methodology based on compatibility and partnership and implementation of the principles of the rule of law and transitional justice so ICSPR consider the PA decision to return the employees to work in the Gaza Strip without a technical administrative and legal arrangements that contradicts with Cairo agreement and exceeds the administrative and legal Committee tasks which is responsible of this affair on the basis of partnership not exclusion and cautions ICSPR warns from the impact of this decision on Palestinian reconciliation:
ICSPR Urges all Palestinian parties to overcome all obstacles that may hinder the national reconciliation and to give it utmost importance.
ICSPR emphasizes the rights of public official and emphasizes the importance of giving this file the utmost importance which needs a national technical and legal vision that guarantees reordering and integration of employees in accordance with clear structures and governmental action plans.
ICSPR considers that Government decision to return employees to work without resolving the staff situations in the Gaza Strip hired before June 14 2007 or hired by the Government of Gaza is an impulsive dangerous and unacceptable decision for employees rights in Gaza Strip and their families and opens the gates of conflict between employees that may contribute to thwart national efforts and national reconciliation process in Egypt.
ICSPR demand the Government to retreat the illegal early retirement decisions and review cutting the salaries of Gaza Strip employees addressing the 2005 employees file and stop the unjustified discrimination against Gaza Strip employees.
ICSPR Welcomes the Egyptian efforts particularly the efforts of the Egyptian delegation in the absence of clear policies and action plans for the Government as well as to carry out its duties particularly in the consolidation of institutions and reintegrating employees therefore ICSPR is demanding the Palestinian Government to retreat immediately that decision and allow the work of the Administrative and legal Committee under law and national consensus.
ICSPR demands the Palestinian Government to abide by the law and directing its interests quickly to respond to humanitarian crises in Gaza Strip particularly the crises of electricity health and education borders and not to sacrifice human rights for political purposes.
ICSPR urges all Palestinian parties to address the legacy internal violations through development of a national program or system of transitional justice inspired by Arab and international positives experiences.