Palestinian Unity Government Pledges to Deal with Government Employee Issue

The visiting delegation of Palestinian Authority ministers visiting the Gaza Strip pledged to immediately tackle one of the key issues preventing the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation from being implemented: the matter of which government the employees belong to. Since reconciliation was announced it has been unclear whether Fatah-loyal employees would supplant Hamas-loyal workers. On Tuesday, a spokesman for the unity government said the matter will be quickly resolved and that no employee hired by the Hamas government would lose their job. The statement apparently did not put an end to the debate with Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri charging that the unity government favors Fatah loyalists and “discriminates” against Hamas workers. The employees’ primary interest, though, is receiving the back pay owed to them. Hamas head Ismail Haniyyeh also had some criticism for the unity government, charging that it has failed to live up to its commitment to re-build the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the war between Israel and Hamas.