Status of Human Rights in Palestine to integrate and regularize the position of Gaza government employees. 32 On the other hand, ICHR did not receive any replies concerning the accountability measures adopted by the General Personnel Council. In line with its vision to ensure the right to hold public posts, ICHR recommends the Cabinet to cancel the decision assigning public servants in Gaza Strip to early retirement, and to observe the obligations arising from Palestine accession to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). It further recommends that the National Consensus Government applies the Civil Service Law and its implementing regulations to all the employees, and to enable the General Personnel Council to perform its role pursuant to the law in relation to the procedures of hiring in public posts, and promotion, evaluation, and dismissal or firing from public posts. It further recommends that National Consensus Government is enabled to perform its role handling the case of the employees of Gaza former government and regularizing their position in a manner that ensures the employees’ rights arising from assuming government positions. Additional recommendations include the administrative legal committee assigned by the National Consensus Government to expedite regularizing the legal position of the employees of Gaza government and ensuring their rights based on the law. 2.1.9 Defenders of Human Rights The Decree-Law No. 16 of 2017 concerning the cybercrimes undermined the rights of defenders of human rights, as the Public Prosecutor issued a decision blocking 29 websites, mostly news-related, which violates the individuals’ basic right to access the internet according to the Human Rights Council’ decision issued in 2016 concerning boosting and safeguarding of the human rights on the web, and the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and to receive and send information. A number of human rights’ defenders and social media activists were exposed to assaults, including defenders of the freedom of opinion or the right to peaceful assembly, and those calling for protesting against the political, economic, and social conditions, and the crises in the Palestinian territories, especially in Gaza Strip, such as the crisis of electricity, closing 23rd Annual Report 1 January - 31 December 2017