Who Will Save the Palestinian Employee? Towards a National System for Family Financial Security

While headlines in the news broadcasts are filled with discussions about the clearance crisis, budget deficits, and the accumulation of public debt, another crisis is quietly forming within tens of thousands of Palestinian households. This crisis typically does not find its way to the front pages, yet it is squeezing the daily life of a large segment of citizens; a segment of public employees who suddenly found themselves, without notice, facing an impossible equation: inadequate and interrupted salaries alongside unavoidable financial obligations.

The numbers here are not just cold statistics; they reflect a heavy reality. According to data from the Palestinian Monetary Authority by the end of 2024, the debts of public sector employees alone reached approximately $1.95 billion. We are talking about 45% of employees who are burdened by multiple bank loans. If we add government loans to the loans of its employees, we face a debt block approaching $5 billion, which is equivalent to 45% of the total credit facilities pumped by the entire banking system.

Roughly calculated, this means that about 70,000 government employees are currently carrying direct bank obligations, representing approximately 70,000 families living under the double pressure of declining income and stagnant debt.

This critical mass of debt transcends individual concerns; it is a ticking economic and social bomb. It directly affects family stability, deals a fatal blow to purchasing power in local markets, and casts shadows over the robustness of the banking system itself.

Throughout the lean years, the employee was not merely a spectator or recipient of the financial crisis's repercussions but was the "first line of defense" that absorbed the shock. A large portion of these employees lived on half salaries or less, while the bills of life remained fixed and unyielding; rent does not recognize the clearance shortfall, university installments do not accept postponement, and utility bills do not issue based on good intentions.

In light of this harsh reality, employees found no refuge but to resort to loans and banking facilities to maintain a bare minimum of dignity in living. As the crisis dragged on, these loans transformed from a means to finance ambitions and improve quality of life into mere life support oxygen.

Here, we must be fair; the Palestinian banking system has played a central role in containing a significant part of these repercussions. Banks responded to the Palestinian Monetary Authority's directives, rescheduled loans, postponed installments, and dealt flexibly with this exceptional situation. But the question knocking on our doors today with strength is: Is this "traditional pain relief" still sufficient after the exception has become the rule, and the emergency crisis has transformed into an extended reality?

If the financial crisis has settled in, it is illogical, and even dangerous, to continue to address the debts of employees with tools designed for transient crises.

This proposal in no way means an attack on banks, nor does it demand frivolous exemptions that harm the financial system, nor does it seek to impose new burdens on a government that is already groaning under unprecedented pressures. Rather, it is an urgent call to open a bold national discussion about a missing concept that should be at the forefront of our priorities: "financial security for the Palestinian family."

We have consumed much ink discussing food, water, and energy security, but we have ignored the financial security of the family; that is, its ability to meet its basic needs with dignity without drowning in the quagmire of debt.

From this standpoint, it is time to shift from a "reactionary" policy to a "strategic intervention" policy by launching a comprehensive national program to rehabilitate the financial situation of employees. This program requires a real partnership between the government, the Monetary Authority, banks, development institutions, and Arab and Islamic funds.

We are not talking here about debt cancellation or free money distribution, but about practical pathways that can be immediately implemented, including:

• Debt restructuring: through long-term scheduling programs that take into account the percentage deducted from actual or ledger salaries.

• Reducing funding costs: offering reduced or zero-interest margins for some difficult humanitarian cases.

• Support funds: creating mutual or investment funds supported by donors targeting the most affected groups and providing them with real grace periods.

Perhaps it is appropriate to study the establishment of a national fund to support the financing costs for the most affected employees, whereby the government, donors, or Arab and Islamic funds bear part of the benefits or financing costs for a specified period, relieving the burden on the employee without affecting the stability of the banking system.

The goal of these solutions is not to shift losses from one pocket to another but to dismantle a social and economic landmine that threatens everyone. Every shekel saved by the employee from debt service will go directly to the local market for consumption, which will revive the stagnant economic cycle. More importantly, protecting the family from financial distress is a proactive step that safeguards the banks' own budgets; the cost of prevention today is much less than the cost of dealing with a collapse tomorrow.

Over the past years, we have heard much about plans to save the government, initiatives to support the private sector, and measures to protect the banking system. All of this is necessary and important, but the question that imposes itself today on every decision-maker is: Who will save the employee?

The employee did not create this crisis, but he has paid the full price. He has proven extraordinary resilience and an amazing ability to adapt, but beware of an open bet on his patience; he cannot remain forever the weakest link in the chain of economic imbalances.

We are not looking for populist slogans or impulsive decisions but for a state vision that recognizes that macroeconomic stability begins in the family kitchen and that the financial security of the citizen is the true safety valve for society.

The question today is not how we will pay salaries next month, but how we will restore the financial solvency of tens of thousands of families that have bled for too long? Investing in the resilience and dignity of the Palestinian person is not a social luxury; it is the most sacred and important economic investment in the survival of this homeland.