![Palestinian factions meet in the hopes to find solutions which will achieve Palestinian unity [Anadolu]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/20170110_Meeting-beirut-with-palestinian-factions.jpg?fit=1200%2C692&ssl=1)
A member of the Palestinian Legislative Council said in a statement yesterday that he proposes a new initiative aimed at resolving the Palestinian internal division and to help reach reconciliation.
Member of Parliament Jamal Al-Khudari noted that his initiative is based on six points. The first is recognising all the old and new employees of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip, and treating them equally in terms of their rights and duties, and with regard to their salaries.
The second and third points of the initiative are about forming a national unity government that would extend its control over all the areas currently under the Palestinian Authority’s control. This government would work to bring about the financial support needed for paying all the employees’ salaries on the basis of equality and equal treatment.
Read: National unity requires job security, social justice says Hamas
The would-be government of national unity would also deal with all the consequences of the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip that started ten years ago, as well as the impact of the Israeli aggression, settler policy and the Separation Wall in the West Bank.
Al-Khudari called for the return of Gaza’s old employees to their jobs along with their new colleagues.
Finally, the initiative calls for holding legislative and presidential elections while providing the suitable atmosphere for strengthening national unity.
The internal Palestinian arena has been marred by political division since Hamas won a large majority in the 2006 legislative elections, which resulted in the emergence of two separate political authorities and two separate legislative bodies – one in the West Bank; the other in the Gaza Strip.
Since the National Reconciliation Government was agreed upon in early June 2014, it has refused to pay the salaries of the former Hamas government’s employees while they continued to carry out their work. It has also refused to incorporate their positions into the in the PA’s hierarchy. On the other hand, the government has been paying the salaries of Fatah employees who have refused to work since the election results were announced.
According to data provided by the Palestinian finance ministry, 156,000 people are employed by the Palestinian Authority, including civilians and military staff. These include 62,000 employees from the Gaza Strip, 40 per cent of the total staff.