Palestinian Health Profession Federation Goes on Strike

People wearing face masks to help fight the spread of the coronavirus walk past shops in a market in Jerusalem's Old City July 6, 2020. (Reuters)
People wearing face masks to help fight the spread of the coronavirus walk past shops in a market in Jerusalem's Old City July 6, 2020. (Reuters)
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Palestinian Health Profession Federation Goes on Strike

People wearing face masks to help fight the spread of the coronavirus walk past shops in a market in Jerusalem's Old City July 6, 2020. (Reuters)
People wearing face masks to help fight the spread of the coronavirus walk past shops in a market in Jerusalem's Old City July 6, 2020. (Reuters)

The Palestinian Federation of Health Profession went on strike on Wednesday. The move covers all health sector workers, except those in the coronavirus treatment department.

This strike is the first practical step by the unions in anger against the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) management of financial affairs.

According to the Union head, Osama al-Najjar, the strike is aimed at protesting against the policy of “humiliating” workers.

In remarks to local radio, he said the strike was not prompted by the failure to pay the salaries of public sector employees, but is rather a rejection of policies adopted by banks that are backed by the Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA).

He slammed the Ministry of Finance, PMA and the banks, accusing them of “implementing a policy of oppression and humiliation against employees.”

Najjar also called on the government to hold the monetary authority accountable and force the PMA and the Finance Ministry to provide justifications for the fines and interests that they have imposed.

The PA has been unable to pay public salaries, while banks have been collecting its loans and the interest for the payments delays. The PA has pledged to resolve the issue.

The monetary authority’s measures have exacerbated living conditions in Palestine. Many workers have already lost their jobs since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in early March.

The Palestinian economy was already suffering even before the pandemic. The PA relies on local and foreign grants, aid and loans, as well as taxes, all of which have dropped due to the world's preoccupation with the pandemic.

According to figures by the Finance Ministry, domestic income dropped by 80 percent during the past two months.



Lebanese President Says Disarmament Decision Has Been Taken

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)
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Lebanese President Says Disarmament Decision Has Been Taken

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun affirmed on Sunday that the decision to confine all arms to the state has already been made, but he emphasized that its enforcement hinges on the “right conditions” to determine the timing and method.
Aoun’s statement came two days after Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem firmly rejected any possibility of disarmament. “We will not allow anyone to disarm Hezbollah or the resistance,” Qassem had said in a televised address.
He warned that Hezbollah has “other options,” though he stopped short of specifying them.
Qassem also claimed that Hezbollah has successfully thwarted Israel’s objectives in southern Lebanon, and revealed that “positive messages” had been exchanged with President Aoun regarding the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

Aoun
Following an Easter Mass and a closed-door meeting with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, Aoun reiterated his stance on confining weapons to the state, emphasizing that the matter “should not be debated through media or social platforms, but rather approached with national responsibility and without provocation”.
He added that the nation’s best interest must always come first, reaffirming that his call, as mentioned in his inaugural address, for exclusive state control over arms was not mere words.
“When I spoke of the state’s exclusive right to arms in my oath of office, it wasn’t just words. I said it because I firmly believe that the Lebanese people do not want war and can no longer bear its consequences or even the language of war,” he said.
In addressing the challenges facing this matter and how to reconcile between external pressures on Lebanon and internal calls for a more gradual approach, Aoun said: “We must address the matter responsibly and with composure because it is a sensitive and fundamental matter for preserving civil peace”.
President Joseph Aoun reiterated his call for internal dialogue as the only viable path to resolve contentious national issues, including the question of Hezbollah’s arms. He warned against confrontation, which he said could lead Lebanon toward destruction.
Patriarch Al-Rahi
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, during his Easter Mass sermon, voiced strong support for Aoun’s position on state sovereignty and the monopoly of arms.
Rahi endorsed Aoun’s message that "only the state can protect us—a strong, sovereign, and just state, born from the will of the Lebanese people and committed to their well-being, peace, and prosperity."