other hand, conditions for the appointment, promotion and evaluation of the higher categories of civil servants continued to be unregulated on a meritbased, equitable and non-discriminatory basis, whereby all categories of civil servants would be included. The Council of Ministers’ decision made on 4 April 2017 continued to in effect. The decision provides for deducting 30-50 percent from the salaries of Gazabased civil servants. According to the ICHR monitoring, these deductions were based on the disbursement of the basic salaries of civil servants in the Gaza Strip, excluding career and other allowances. The legal basis according to which the decision had been made was not provided.12 According to the ICHR monitoring, in May 2018, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) deducted 50 percent of the salaries of prisoners and released prisoners in the Gaza Strip. This was in the context of measures taken by the Palestinian government against all Gaza-based civil servants. The ICHR also received nine complaints on violations of the principle of fair competition in the West Bank. Civilians complained of breaching the principle of fair competition in recruitment. No such complaints were filed in the Gaza Strip. Additionally, the ICHR received 168 complaints (142 in the West Bank and 26 in the Gaza Strip) on administrative disputes, involving promotions, pensions and financial benefits. While those filed in the Gaza Strip were addressed against the MoF, the majority of complaints in the West Bank were lodged against the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) and MoH. The ICHR received 16 complaints (12 in the West Bank and four in the Gaza Strip) on arbitrary dismissal from civil service in disregard of the legal norms on the suspension, dismissal or removal of civil servants. Of those filed, seven complaints claimed noncompliance with the legal process of suspending, dismissing or removing civil servants. In 2017, the National Consensus Government established an administrative committee to adjust the status of the Gaza-based civil servants. The committee was an outcome of the latest national reconciliation agreement, which entered into effect after Hamas had dissolved its Administrative Committee on 17 September 2017. In addition to supervising the judicial system, Hamas’ committee was in charge of regulating civil service, civil administrative apparatus, security forces, employees of the higher category, and officers with senior military ranks. The ICHR recommends that the Council of Ministers stop using its powers in a way that impinges on citizens’ rights and freedoms. It should comply with applicable legal standards in the approval of government policies relating to the salaries of civil servants, prisoners and released prisoners in the Gaza Strip. These must be grounded in equality and non-discrimination. The Law 12 See ICHR 23rd Annual Report, Violations of the right to hold public office. Executive Summary 2018 23