Towards Rationalizing Rewards for Heads and Members of Local Authority Councils

The Palestinian economy is suffering from a severe crisis due to the genocide war on the Gaza Strip, accompanied by Israeli measures that have led to a significant decline in GDP. Additionally, the public finances in Palestine are facing the worst financial crisis since the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority, due to the suffocating Israeli blockade and the halt of all revenue transfers, which have accumulated public debt and arrears. Furthermore, there has been an inability to pay salaries for public sector employees for several years, alongside the accumulation of dues owed to the private sector and suppliers.

The effects of the financial crisis and the contraction of the economy have reflected on local authorities in Palestine, which are now experiencing financial distress due to the decline in the local economy and a decrease in various local authority fees. Moreover, revenues from local council investments have also diminished, and certain community groups have fallen behind in paying their dues due to the high unemployment rate and liquidity shortages among citizens, in addition to the reduced government support for local authorities because of the financial crisis, as well as the systematic destruction of infrastructure in Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps due to Israeli occupation. In light of these difficult economic conditions, which show no sign of imminent relief, local authority elections are scheduled for April 25, 2026, to elect new heads and members for municipal councils across three categories (A, B, C) and various village councils.

On the day following the elections, the elected or uncontested municipal and village councils will face numerous challenges, primarily the decline in their revenues, which negatively affects the quality and regularity of services for citizens, as well as their development efforts. Given the significant role of local authorities, especially in the context of the great pressure on public finances and the decline of central services, and in accordance with the functions defined for local authorities by Law No. (1) of 1997, there is a necessity to provide revenues for these authorities and rationalize their expenditures. A fundamental issue that requires expenditure rationalization is the rewards for heads and members of local authority councils; it is unreasonable to have such "luxury" in this item amidst a severe financial crunch experienced by all Palestinians. What was appropriate during the passing of Cabinet Decision No. (3) of 2017 regarding the system for the heads and members of local authority councils, along with its amendments, particularly Cabinet Decision No. (7) of 2018, is no longer applicable today. It is unreasonable for a civil servant not to have received their full salary for four and a half years, to have approximately 200,000 workers laid off within the Green Line, to have private sector wages reduced, and even UNRWA employees facing reductions, while heads and members of local authority councils continue to receive exceedingly high rewards at the expense of the local authority budget. A simple calculation for a local authority consisting of 15 members indicates that the basic salary for the head of the local authority is 9,000 shekels according to the system, in addition to an allowance linked to the size of the authority's budget, which can increase and reach 5,000 shekels. Each member receives a monthly attendance allowance for attending sessions, amounting to approximately 2,400 shekels monthly, depending on the number of sessions attended, despite the fact that the members, except for the president, are not dedicated to working at the local authority. Thus, a single member in a large local authority receives session attendance rewards amounting to about 115,200 shekels over the authority's four-year term, which constitutes a significant drain on the already exhausted budgets of local authorities, and these calculations vary according to the size, classification, and annual budget of each local authority.

Therefore, it is imperative to amend the system issued by the Cabinet to align with the reality of the Palestinian economy, even temporarily. With the commencement of the electoral campaigning, this is also a call for electoral lists and individuals running for the upcoming local elections to adopt an ethical code of conduct to commit not to receive rewards for attending sessions, as a contribution to support local authorities, strengthen their resilience, and reduce the rewards granted to heads of local authorities. Especially since there are prominent cases of heads of major local authorities who have donated their rewards to social funds in their local bodies in previous years, and there are also cases of members of local authority councils who donated their rewards to their local authorities. This is a call for electoral lists and individuals running for office to announce such actions in their electoral programs as part of their contribution to supporting local authorities. This is also a concluding call for our Palestinian people and voters to take such ethical initiatives into account when electing their representatives to lead local authorities during this crucial and complex financial period to come. Those who wish to serve their people must also contribute to supporting them.