documented summons by the Internal Security service in the Gaza Strip, to members of the Government Data Update Committee, where they were detained for hours and were released and ordered to stop updating employees’ data and not to complete the work of the committee. Meanwhile, the work and outputs of the legal administrative committee for rectifying the conditions of Gaza government employees continued to be on hold. As for accountability procedures, reflected in the number of grievances and complaints taken by the Personnel Bureau. The Bureau stated that it had received (79) complaints received through its Complaints Unit from all parties, which dealt with them and responded to them in accordance with the appropriate legal and administrative principles.30 These complaints varied to include review of appointment procedures, 31 following objection against conditions and standards of competitions held by the Personnel Bureau, complaints related to promotion, transfer, seconding and demands for financial dues. In this context, the commission affirms its previous recommendations, including the need for the Council of Ministers to stop using its powers to infringe the system of rights and freedoms, guaranteed to public employees. In addition to the aforementioned, the need to adhere to legal standards in approving government policies related to the salaries of public employees, prisoners and released prisoners in the Gaza Strip, which must be subject to standards of equality and nondiscrimination. Furthermore, there is a need for the Council of Ministers to cancel the decision on sending public employees in the Gaza Strip to early retirement, which is a violation of the Civil Service Law and its prejudice to large sectors of employees. The aforementioned decision harms the vital basic services sector (education and health) guaranteed by the law, in addition to the need to take into account the obligations arising from the accession of the State of Palestine to the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Additionally, there is a need for the General Personnel Bureau to abide by the legal and administrative standards regarding procedures for holding public jobs, promotion and evaluation, as well as in the dismissal or removal from civil service The ninth subject: Protecting Human Rights Defenders The commission observed three patterns related to human rights defenders, in the form of physical assault, perhaps the most prominent of which is the physical assault on (Jamil Sarhan and Bakr Turkmani), from the Independent Commission for Human Rights on 3/14/2019. The assault was The response of the General Personnel Council to the authority. 30 On March 16, 2019, the Commission issued a statement condemning the incid ent as an unprecedented targeting 31 of the Commission’s workers and a dangerous message addressed to civil society institutions, activists and human rights defenders that there is no immunity for anyone. The ICHR asked the competent authorities in the Gaza Strip to open an official, serious and independent investigation into the incident of assaulting the ICHR’s staff and bring those who assaulted them to justice.