Skip to main content

Fatah power struggle leads to missing paychecks in Gaza

A series of internal conflicts in Fatah has been deepened by a decision to withhold the salaries of Gaza-based security officers said to be supporters of Mohammed Dahlan, President Mahmoud Abbas' chief rival.
A Palestinian employee of the former Hamas government counts his money outside a post office in Gaza City on October 29, 2014 after receiving 1,200 US dollars which is part of his wages that has been delayed for months. The Palestinian national unity government headed by prime minister Rami Hamdallah sent the previous day roughly 30 million dollars by car across the Erez border crossing from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip to pay 24,000 former employees. AFP PHOTO / MAHMUD HAMS        (Photo credit should r

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was haunted last week by the Arabic saying “cutting livelihood is worse than cutting necks.” Abbas had stopped payment on the salaries of more than 200 security officers suspected of being loyal to renegade Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan.

When the Palestinian government transferred 60% of December salaries on Jan. 20, 220 Gaza-based security officers discovered that their names were not among those submitted to the consortium of six banks responsible for distributing payrolls. The punishment for the alleged Dahlan loyalists by way of denials of payment did not go over well, leading to protests, petitions and calls for a reversal of the decision. Episodes of violence and unrest were recorded against a number of pro-Abbas officials and institutions.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.