Gaza schools stage one-day strike over salaries

By Nour Abu Aisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Schools and education directorates staged a one-day strike in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in protest of being unpaid by the Ramallah-based Palestinian government.

Doors of schools and offices of the Education Ministry were locked, while students failed to show up for classes.

Wednesday’s strike was called by the teachers union to protest refusal of the Palestinian government to pay monthly salaries for employees hired by Hamas since 2007.

Hamas has appointed around 40,000 employees in Gaza after seizing control of the seaside enclave from forces of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority in 2007.

The Hamas-hired employees have been a thorny issue in Egypt-sponsored reconciliation talks aimed to heal the decade-long rift between Hamas and its rival group Fatah.