Government: Ongoing Efforts to Secure a Payroll Payment at the Beginning of Next Week

SadaNews - Prime Minister Dr. Muhammad Mustafa opened the weekly Cabinet meeting today, Tuesday, briefing Council members on the political and diplomatic efforts led by the President and Palestinian diplomacy to garner more international support for our people's issues. In this context, the Prime Minister will participate in the International Coalition meeting to embody the two-state solution, which will be hosted in Brussels next week, as part of the effort to reactivate the political path and international pressure to establish a Palestinian state, as well as the international donors’ meeting aimed at securing financial support for our people amidst the difficult circumstances.

Additionally, the Cabinet warned of the exacerbating crisis of severe fuel shortages in the Gaza Strip and the serious risks this poses to the remaining operational health centers in the sector, some of which have already suffered partial destruction, thus threatening an additional collapse in the healthcare system.

The Cabinet called for intensified international efforts and effective pressure to lift the Israeli restrictions imposed on the entry of food supplies into the Gaza Strip, in light of the acute shortage of health supplies, medicines, and living necessities. It also demanded expediting the implementation of the internationally agreed-upon ceasefire plan, warning that any continuation of delays in implementation could deepen suffering for citizens and exacerbate the humanitarian situation.

In a related context, the Cabinet emphasized the need for more serious international action and effective measures to stop the escalating crimes of settlers, which, according to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, reached 129 assaults over the past week, targeting 17 Palestinian villages, resulting in the martyrdom of one citizen and injuries to dozens, alongside significant property losses, particularly around Jerusalem, including the repeated incursions of extremists into Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Cabinet also stressed that the international community must take serious and firm punitive actions against Israeli policies and procedures, including the covert approval by the Israeli Cabinet for the establishment of 34 new settlements in the West Bank, a step considered the largest of its kind to date and a flagrant violation of international law that undermines peace opportunities.

Furthermore, in light of the ongoing occupation's complete withholding of Palestinian tax revenues for about a year, which constitute approximately 68% of the Palestinian public financial revenues, government efforts via the Ministry of Finance are ongoing around the clock on multiple fronts to secure a payroll payment for public employees at the beginning of next week. In this regard, the Palestinian government renews its call for increased international pressure to stop the occupation’s crimes and its illegal procedures, especially pushing for the release of the withheld clearance funds, which exceed 15 billion shekels.

The Cabinet also discussed several routine and procedural issues alongside its first reading of an amendment project to the system for shelters for abused women, aimed at implementing the best practices and procedures for the protection of women, particularly in shelters.