Palestinian Prime Minister Rami al-Hamdallah called on the Hamas Movement to grant the Palestinian Authority (PA) access into the Gaza Strip to complete the reconciliation and attend to the enclave’s needs.
Hamdallah announced on Saturday that the Ramallah-based government would add 20,000 Hamas employees in Gaza to its 2018 budget in an attempt to advance a stagnating reconciliation agreement signed with its rival Fatah in 2017.
He added that there were no valid “arguments” Hamas can make now that the government listed the employees in this year’s budget, which will be approved by President Mahmoud Abbas.
In a speech during a government event in Tulkarm, north of the West Bank, Hamdallah explained that the government is not legitimizing Hamas’ arms, but rather empowering “police, civil defense, customs control, internal security and crossings.”
Announcing the overture to Hamas, Hamdallah urged the group to allow the PA government to assume full control over the affairs of the Strip, including tax collection, control of all border crossings, and law enforcement in the enclave.
“A legitimate government cannot exist without being able to collect taxes.”
“The government is spending $100 million a month on the Gaza Strip ... This is our duty and not a gift, but it is Hamas that is now collecting and spending taxes, and we do not receive a single penny,” he explained.
“It is unreasonable to distribute land to people in Gaza ... this is public property," he said attacking Hamas' control over public land.
He also stressed the need to return all staff appointed before June 14, 2007, the date of Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip.
“We are paying salaries of over 10,000 civil servants in Gaza who now are sitting in their homes,” he said.
“Let them get back to work,” Hamdallah urged Hamas.
