should not exceed four years, while before the amendment, the period was indefinite, while the conditions and procedures for appointment, for higher categories of employees, were not regulated based on merit, equal opportunities and non-discrimination, to include all categories of employees. During this year, the Commission documented the suspension of salaries payment, by the Ministry of Finance, for (3343) public employees in the Gaza Strip. Of these were (1719 civil employees, 1624 military employees) and the suspension of (1700) monthly allocations for families of martyrs, wounded and prisoners in the Gaza Strip for the month of January 2019. This was coupled with stopping the payment of the salaries of prisoners and released prisoners in the Gaza Strip, whose number was (420) prisoners and released prisoners (400 released prisoners, 20 prisoners in the occupation prisons). This was a continuation of the measures taken by the ministry, since May 2018, deducting 50% of the salaries of prisoners and released prisoners in the Gaza Strip. This measure did not state the reasons and justifications for that step, and was without following the legal requirements outlined in the Civil Service Law and other relevant laws, which clarify the mechanisms and procedures required to stop salaries and financial allocations for the groups affected by this procedure. The implementation of the Council of Ministers decision of 4/4/2017, which provides for deductions in the salaries of public employees in the Gaza Strip, continued to be in effect, with deductions ranging between (30%) to (50%). According to the monitoring reports of the ICHR, these deductions were based on paying the basic salary of employees in the southern governorates and excluding the profession and other allowances, without indicating the legal basis under which the decision was adopted. The Commission also received (14) complaints about violating the principle of fair competition in employment, (13) of them in the West Bank, and one complaint in the Gaza Strip, in which citizens claim the violation of fair competition in employment. The ICHR also received (115) complaints related to administrative disputes (promotion, retirement) Financial rights), including (60) complaints in the West Bank and (55) complaints in the Gaza Strip. The largest number of complaints that the ICHR received focused on the Ministry of Finance, regarding employees' financial rights and retirement benefits. The ICHR also received (17) complaints related to dismissal from the public office (unfair dismissal) without adhering to the legal standards for suspension, dismissal or dismissing a public employee, (16) complaints of which in the West Bank and one in the Gaza Strip.29 On 9/23/2019, the Council of Ministers formed a governmental committee to update the data of employees in the southern governorates that are on the payroll of the Council of Ministers in the West Bank. The committee was headed by the Deputy Minister of Finance and with the membership of the Ministry of Interior representative and the representative of the General Personnel Bureau. The committee aimed to study the situation of public employees in the southern governorates and review the relevant government procedures. The committee submitted its recommendations to the Council of Ministers to rectify the conditions of public employees in the Gaza Strip. On 7/10/2019, the Commission See the chapter on the right to have public office in the Commission’s twenty -fourth annual report.29