عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Hamas Appointing Municipal Administrations in Gaza Sparks Controversy

A Palestinian woman reads a local newspaper
A Palestinian woman reads a local newspaper
TT
TT

Hamas Appointing Municipal Administrations in Gaza Sparks Controversy

A Palestinian woman reads a local newspaper
A Palestinian woman reads a local newspaper

Hamas appointing new administrations for the municipalities councils in Gaza has raised a Palestinian debate amid concerns of widening the internal division that has been ongoing for 12 years.

Gaza municipality announced two days ago appointing Yahya Sarraj as a new president – the municipality said that the new president would hold consultations with the competent committees and the city dignitaries and those concerned with naming the members of the municipal council.

Undersecretary of the Ministry of Local Government Ibrahim Radwan said that adopting this way in electing a new president came amid continuous disruption of holding local elections.

The election process witnessed the participation of elites from the community in addition to representatives from institutions, local authorities, syndicates, and universities, Radwan added.

Gaza municipality is the second biggest councils on the Palestinian territories in regards to the population, with around 1,800 employees and the highest revenues on the level of the Strip.

The German news agency (dpa) reported that Hamas authorities appointed a new president for Fatah municipality, in the far south of Gaza Strip. At the beginning of 2018, they appointed a president for Khan Yunis.

Gaza Strip didn’t witness elections for the municipal council since 2005, while the West Bank held municipal elections between 2011-2017 without the Strip due to internal disputes.

The appointment of municipal administrations in Gaza Strip - without elections- was met with criticism by Palestinian factions especially Fatah – led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Fatah Revolutionary Council Member Mohammad al-Lahham stated that Hamas imposes its leaders on Gaza Strip municipalities away from any form of democracy or accord with the organizations and the civil community.

Iyad Awadallah, an official from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said that this way of choosing president for Gaza municipality strikes the essence of the democratic process.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

UN Appeal for Aid to Support 10 Million Yemenis

 In Yemen around 3.3 million IDPs are living in family hosting arrangements and rental accommodation (UN)
 In Yemen around 3.3 million IDPs are living in family hosting arrangements and rental accommodation (UN)
TT
TT

UN Appeal for Aid to Support 10 Million Yemenis

 In Yemen around 3.3 million IDPs are living in family hosting arrangements and rental accommodation (UN)
 In Yemen around 3.3 million IDPs are living in family hosting arrangements and rental accommodation (UN)

The United Nations and partners launched last week the 2025 Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, seeking urgent humanitarian and protection assistance to more than 10 million Yemenis in need.
In its plan, the UN warned that more than half of the country’s population – 19.5 million people – needs humanitarian assistance and protection services.
The collapse of the Yemeni riyal, now trading at over 2,160 riyals per US dollar in the legitimate government-controlled areas, has significantly worsened living conditions for Yemenis and left authorities struggling to pay public sector salaries for the past four months.
Yemen’s financial crisis further worsened after the Houthi militia suspended oil exports, causing an electricity blackout in Aden, the country's temporary capital, for more than half a day.
In its Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, the UN appealed for $2.47 billion to provide urgent humanitarian and protection assistance to more than 19.5 million people in need.
Under the 2025 appeal, humanitarians aim to deliver life-saving assistance to 10.5 million of the most vulnerable people in need, Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Julien Harneis, said.
Despite significant challenges, Harneis said 197 aid organizations reached more than 8 million people with life-saving assistance last year – two-thirds of which were local Yemeni organizations.
This was made possible by the sustained support of donors, who contributed more than $1.4 billion to the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan.
The Humanitarian Coordinator said much more is needed this year to reduce needs, achieve peace, revive the economy and build the resilience of communities through sustainable development activities.
He noted that climate shocks, increased regional tensions and chronic underfunding of critical humanitarian sectors are further worsening people’s vulnerability and suffering.
This year, more than 17 million people will experience acute food insecurity—almost half the country’s population—with 5 million expected to experience emergency levels of food insecurity.
Moreover, 13.6 million people face challenges to access a water source of sufficient quality to prevent diseases while 40% of Yemen's health facilities are partially functioning or completely out-of-service due to shortages in staff, funding, electricity, medicines and equipment, and infrastructure integrity.
The UN last year requested $2.7 billion for a humanitarian response plan, but received only meager pledges, causing a huge gap in meeting the needs of the targeted population.
Jamal Belfaqih, head of Yemen's Supreme Relief Committee, confirms the numbers of humanitarian needs declared by the United Nations, its agencies and international organizations.
However, Belfaqih said the appeal that agencies request fail to meet their efforts to secure funding.
Also, he said, the UN and its agencies face challenges to reach the targeted population due to a lack of information and demographic changes caused by internal displacement.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Belfaqih said the funds required from donors to finance the humanitarian response plan will probably not be obtained due to a poor promotion of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
“The relief organizations have not changed their response plan methods since 2015, despite their failure to meet the needs of the Yemenis and to end or reduce the humanitarian crisis,” he said.
In 2025, an estimated 19.5 million people across Yemen need humanitarian assistance and protection services – 1.3 million people more than last year.
An estimated 4.8 million people, most of whom are women and children, remain internally displaced, with repeated displacement trapping families in cycles of dependency on humanitarian assistance.
In a briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Yemen, Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said people in Yemen continue to face a severe humanitarian and protection crisis.
Almost half of Yemen’s population – over 17 million people – is unable to meet their basic food needs.
The most marginalized, including women and girls, those displaced and communities such as the Muhamasheen, are the worst affected.
Msuya said almost half of all children under the age of 5 suffer from moderate to severe stunting caused by malnutrition, while cholera is at appalling levels.