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Abbas to Resolve Outstanding Issues in Gaza Strip before Elections

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a Fatah Central Committee meeting. (Wafa)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a Fatah Central Committee meeting. (Wafa)
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Abbas to Resolve Outstanding Issues in Gaza Strip before Elections

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a Fatah Central Committee meeting. (Wafa)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a Fatah Central Committee meeting. (Wafa)

The Palestinian Fatah movement has decided to resolve all outstanding issues in the Gaza Strip before the general elections in May.

Movement officials affirmed that President Mahmoud Abbas has formed a committee in this regard and ordered Prime Minister Mohamed Shtayyeh to resolve matters as soon as possible.

Fatah Central Committee member Azzam Al-Ahmad, who is also member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Committee, said the president issued clear instructions to resolve all issues within days, mainly those on financial retirement and salary cuts.

Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq al-Tirawi noted that employee problems in the Strip would be resolved on several phases.

The committee formed by Abbas will find solutions to the problems and then present them to the Central Committee, he added.

These statements were welcomed in the Strip, where public sector employees have been suffering from salary cuts and many were referred to early retirement.

Abbas’s move came in line with his movement’s preparations to run for the legislative elections, scheduled for May 22, and aims to attract more votes.

These decisions were taken during a central committee meeting on Sunday that was chaired by Abbas.

Participants discussed the elections, including alliances, and whether forming a national list with other factions, including Gaza’s rulers Hamas, was possible.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Fatah’s decision to form a list under the PLO umbrella indicated that every faction is welcome to join.

This would complicate the possibility of forming a joint list between Fatah and Hamas, which rejects the PLO’s commitments.

Sources said a PLO list will most probably be formed, without Hamas, but he stressed that all options are possible.

Fatah deputy chief Mahmoud al-Aloul said on Monday that this issue has not yet been decided.

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ICRC to Expand Syria Humanitarian Efforts beyond $100 Mln Program

A logo of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is pictured in Geneva, Switzerland March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
A logo of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is pictured in Geneva, Switzerland March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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ICRC to Expand Syria Humanitarian Efforts beyond $100 Mln Program

A logo of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is pictured in Geneva, Switzerland March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
A logo of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is pictured in Geneva, Switzerland March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) plans to expand its work in Syria significantly beyond an initial $100 million program, the organization's president said on Monday, citing pressing needs in the health, water and power sectors.
Syria requires $4.07 billion in aid this year, but only 33.1% has been funded, leaving a $2.73 billion gap, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The ICRC's expected expansion follows new access to all regions of the country after the toppling of president Bashar al-Assad last month.
"Our program originally for this year for Syria was $100 million, but we are likely to expand that significantly," ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric told Reuters on the sidelines of a visit to the country.
She said individual donor countries had already come forward with an increase in funding for Syria.
ICRC was one of the few international organizations still operating in Syria under Assad's rule, working on infrastructure projects including water and electricity systems.
"We need to expand that work, we have a lot to do in the health sector," she added.
The organization is engaged in rehabilitation work to sustain water provision at 40% to 50% of what it was before the war, but protection of water facilities remains important as some are close to places where fighting is still under way.
"There are facilities next to the Euphrates Lake that are specific to the protection requirement at the moment," she said.
Initial assessments to begin immediate rehabilitation of Syria’s electricity systems are partly complete, but urgent financial investments and adjustments to sanctions are now required, she added.
"Certain spare parts need to be allowed to come in because that is also hampering the rehabilitation work at the moment. So there's a political dimension to it," she said.
Earlier, people briefed on the matter told Reuters that the US is set to announce an easing of restrictions on providing humanitarian aid and other basic services such as electricity to Syria while maintaining its strict sanctions regime.
On Sunday, Syria's new rulers said US sanctions were an obstacle to the country's rapid recovery and urged Washington to lift them, during a visit by Syrian officials to Qatar.