Executive Summary
On 4/4/2017, the Cabinet adopted a decision reducing the salaries of public
servants in Gaza Strip by 30 to 50 percent on the grounds of payment of the
basic salary to the employees in the southern governorates and excluding
professional bonus and other bonus. The decision did not state the legal
basis on which it was adopted. Further, public servants were assigned
for early retirement under the Palestinian Cabinet’s resolution issued in
its session held on Tuesday, corresponding to 4/7/2017 which assigned
6145 public servants in the southern governorates (Gaza Strip) to early
retirement6.
ICHR received 13 complaints related to the fair competition over
employment; including 10 complaints in the West Bank and 3 complaints
in Gaza Strip. It also received 91 complaints related to administrative
disputes (promotion, retirement, financial entitlements); 76 of which were
received in the West Bank and 15 in Gaza Strip. ICHR further received
15 complaints on incompliance with the legal norms of suspension and
dismissal, and firing from public posts in the West Bank, mostly on the
grounds of political affiliation. Further, the Public Employees Union at Gaza
Strip banned some of the “objectors” employees from being reinstated in
their posts after the National Consensus Government requested some of its
employees in the ministries of finance, local governance, and endowment
to return to their posts and assume their job duties.
The National Consensus Government formed a legal administrative
committee chaired by the deputy of the Prime Minister to integrate
and regularize the position of Gaza government employees, within the
administrative and legal structure of the public servants affiliated to the
official agencies of the State of Palestine. This committee was formed as
one of the outcomes of the recent reconciliation agreement which entered
into force as a result of Hamas Movement disbanding the administrative
committee on 17/9/20177 which was responsible for regulating the public
post affairs, as well as the civil administrative service, security forces,
top grade employees, and supreme military ranks, and for supervising the
judicial service. However, the committee failed to produce any outcomes
6
On 7/9/2017 the Palestine Gazette (official Gazette) published Decree-Law No. 17 of 2017
concerning early retirement of civil servants which was concluded with a note stating that it
was issued on 22/7/2017.
7
See the statement issued by Hamas Movement on 17/9/2017.
The Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR)
31