Ref: 108/2021
Date: 9 Dec 2021
Press release,
ICSPR calls on Dr. Muhammad Shtayyeh to provide redress for the employees of the Al-Bahr Corporation and the 2005 employees.
Occupied Palestine/Gaza: The International Commission to Support Palestinians’ Rights (ICSPR) sent a letter to Dr. Muhammad Shtayyeh, the Palestinian Prime Minister, regarding the ongoing suffering of the employees of Al-Bahr and the 2005, and called on him to work on compensating them for the violations they have been subjected to over the past years.
Within its letter, ICSPR confirmed that the 2005 employees are living in harsh conditions and catastrophic repercussions, represented in the death of 13 employees due to strokes and heart attacks while demanding the collection of their financial rights, as they were paid only 750 shekels, and dozens of them were arrested on receivables, as a result of the Palestinian government’s failure to settle their employment status.
ICSPR indicated that the cause of the 2005 employees, numbering about 12,000, has remained pending since 2008, despite the completion of all the justifications for their appointment as soldiers in the Palestinian National Authority since 2005, which means that they possess all the rights that others possess according to The Palestinian Security Forces Service Law, however, the authority denied this obligation and cut the salaries of a large number of these employees, then referred them to the Social Affairs section without any of the guarantees, which has had serious repercussions in light of the catastrophic humanitarian situation and requires the government to respect the law and apply it without discrimination.
It also called on the Palestinian Prime Minister, to issue his clear instructions and directives to the competent authorities to address this cause, especially since the Palestinian Basic Law expressly stipulates that any attack on rights and freedoms is a crime, and the National Authority shall guarantee fair compensation for those who have suffered the harm.
