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Hamas Appointing Municipal Administrations in Gaza Sparks Controversy

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

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Kremlin Says It Wants Syria to Swiftly Restore Order after Opposition Attack

Fighters take over the district of Khan al-Assal following fierce fighting between Syrian government forces and opposition forces along with their Turkish-backed allies in the northern Syrian Aleppo province, on November 29, 2024. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)
Fighters take over the district of Khan al-Assal following fierce fighting between Syrian government forces and opposition forces along with their Turkish-backed allies in the northern Syrian Aleppo province, on November 29, 2024. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)
TT
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Kremlin Says It Wants Syria to Swiftly Restore Order after Opposition Attack

Fighters take over the district of Khan al-Assal following fierce fighting between Syrian government forces and opposition forces along with their Turkish-backed allies in the northern Syrian Aleppo province, on November 29, 2024. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)
Fighters take over the district of Khan al-Assal following fierce fighting between Syrian government forces and opposition forces along with their Turkish-backed allies in the northern Syrian Aleppo province, on November 29, 2024. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)

The Kremlin said on Friday it wanted the Syrian government to restore constitutional order in the Aleppo region as soon as possible after an insurgent offensive there that captured territory for the first time in years.
Russia, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, intervened militarily on Assad's side against insurgents in 2015 in its biggest foray in the Middle East since the Soviet Union's collapse, and maintains an airbase and naval facility in Syria.
Opposition led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group launched an incursion on Wednesday into a dozen towns and villages in the northwestern province of Aleppo, which is controlled by Assad's forces.
It was the first such territorial advance since March 2020 when Russia and Türkiye, which supports the opposition, agreed to a ceasefire that led to the halting of military action in Syria's last major opposition stronghold in the northwest.
Russian and Syrian warplanes bombed an opposition-held area near the border with Türkiye on Thursday to try to push back the insurgents, Syrian army and opposition sources said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow regarded the attack as a violation of Syria's sovereignty and wanted the authorities to act fast to regain control.
"As for the situation around Aleppo, it is an attack on Syrian sovereignty and we are in favor of the Syrian authorities bringing order to the area and restoring constitutional order as soon as possible," said Peskov.
Asked about unconfirmed Russian Telegram reports that Assad had flown into Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Peskov said he had "nothing to say" on the matter.