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Palestinian Authority Criticized for Referring Thousands of Gaza Employees to Early Retirement

Palestinian employees process data on their laptops at Unit One in Gaza City January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Palestinian employees process data on their laptops at Unit One in Gaza City January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
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Palestinian Authority Criticized for Referring Thousands of Gaza Employees to Early Retirement

Palestinian employees process data on their laptops at Unit One in Gaza City January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Palestinian employees process data on their laptops at Unit One in Gaza City January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

A controversy on Palestinian Authority employees in the Gaza Strip has erupted following a PA decision to offer early retirement to around 7,000 employees.

The Palestinian Ministry of Finance imposed an early retirement program on the employees, the majority of whom work for the ministries of education, health, transportation, social development, and finance.

This prompted the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to renew calls on the PA and the government to put an end to all forms of discrimination among the public sector employees and to suspend all procedures taken against them in Gaza.

The Front denounced the measures, which it said coincides with the worst humanitarian crisis facing Palestinians after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It stressed the urgency of national calls to halt all discrimination policies practiced against the Gaza Strip, describing the new measures as illegal and part of the collective punishment of its people.

The Front also decried statements made by Palestinian Social Affairs Minister Ahmed Majdalani, who said that Gaza laborers have been receiving their salaries for 13 years without working. They can’t be compared to the workers in the West Bank, he added.

Senior Fatah official in Gaza Ibrahim Abu al-Naja sent a letter to the government in Ramallah requesting a clarification of Majdalani’s statement, which he deemed offensive.

Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq al-Tirawi also criticized the latest decision and highlighted the importance of protecting salaries in Gaza, which preserve the people’s social dignity and provide them with a decent living.

For its part, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights called on the government to adhere to its legal commitments, to assume its responsibilities, and to withdraw the punitive measures imposed on Gaza since March 2017 under the pretext of political and geographical division.

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Cairo May Request Extradition of Qaradawi’s Son from Abu Dhabi

Umayyad Square in Damascus (Reuters)
Umayyad Square in Damascus (Reuters)
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Cairo May Request Extradition of Qaradawi’s Son from Abu Dhabi

Umayyad Square in Damascus (Reuters)
Umayyad Square in Damascus (Reuters)

As Lebanese authorities proceed with the deportation of Egyptian activist Abdel Rahman al-Qaradawi, the son of the late cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, to the United Arab Emirates, an Egyptian source involved in the case told Asharq Al-Awsat that Cairo plans to formally request his extradition from Abu Dhabi once he arrives there.

Controversy has surrounded the case since Lebanon announced that the government had approved the deportation of Qaradawi to the UAE instead of Egypt, where he holds citizenship.

Former Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that citizenship is not an obstacle in extradition cases between countries, saying that a state may decide to extradite a person to another country even if they hold the nationality of a third state, as in the case of Qaradawi’s son.

According to Lebanese sources, the decision to extradite Qaradawi to the UAE is based on a warrant issued by the Council of Arab Interior Ministers. As a member of the council, Lebanon is obligated to comply with the UAE’s request, despite the absence of a direct bilateral extradition agreement between the two countries.

Additionally, the extradition decision was influenced by the fact that the charges against Qaradawi are criminal, not political, as political charges would prevent extradition and instead warrant protection under international conventions.

An Egyptian judicial source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the International Cooperation Office of Egypt’s Public Prosecutor had prepared a comprehensive file containing all rulings issued against Qaradawi to ensure that the extradition request met all legal requirements. This file was sent to Lebanese judicial authorities through official channels. However, Egypt has yet to receive a response from Lebanon, though one is expected in the coming days.

Dr. Mohammed Mahmoud Mehran, a member of the American and European societies for international law, told Asharq Al-Awsat that international law generally allows extradition when the individual is either a citizen of the requesting state, has committed a crime on its territory, or when the requesting state has a direct legal interest in the case.

As Qaradawi is an Egyptian citizen, Egypt “has the legal right to request his extradition under international law and bilateral agreements, provided all legal conditions are met,” Mehran said.

Meanwhile, Qaradawi’s lawyer, Mohammed Sablouh, confirmed plans to file an urgent appeal in Lebanese courts to prevent his client’s extradition, according to Reuters. Mehran explained that extradition laws grant the individual the right to appeal in court, while the requesting states also have the right to challenge decisions.

Mehran suggested that if Qaradawi is ultimately handed over to the UAE, it is highly likely he will later be extradited to Egypt after procedural requirements in the Emirates are fulfilled. This is due to the strong bilateral relations and close security coordination between Egypt and the UAE.

Abdel Rahman al-Qaradawi, who holds dual Egyptian and Turkish citizenship, was arrested in Lebanon on December 28 after returning from Syria. His arrest followed an Interpol red notice issued based on an in absentia ruling by an Egyptian court sentencing him to five years in prison for spreading false news, inciting violence, and terrorism. Before his arrest, Qaradawi appeared in a video filmed at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, where he made remarks considered offensive to both Egypt and the UAE.