Palestinian president criticizes Hamas government
Moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday sided with angry civil servants in their growing confrontation with the Hamas government, which has been unable to pay some 165,000 government employees for the past six months because of a freeze in international aid. The civil servants union has said it would launch an open-ended strike next week, coinciding with the start of the new school year. The strike is expected to disrupt education and health care.
Hamas leaders have alleged that the unions are linked to Abbas' Fatah movement, Hamas' main political rival, and that the strike is meant to undermine the Hamas government. On Wednesday, Abbas met with 3,000 government employees at his office, including union leaders. "It is the employees' right to demonstrate and strike," he said. (AP)
