Gaza Strip: Hamas disperses teachers’ strike
Educators loyal to the Islamic Jihad protest Hamas involvement in academic institutions. Meanwhile Hamas slams doctors' strike, claims several have died due to lack of medical treatment
The teachers were protesting against Hamas' involvement in the education system, and the firing of teachers loyal to rival faction Fatah. The Islamic Jihad vehemently denounced the scattering of the demonstration.
Hamas security officials and Gaza police said the demonstration was scattered because its organizers did not receive the necessary permits to hold it.
According to the organizers, several protesters were arrested. The teachers claimed that about a quarter million students are suffering from disruptions in their studies caused by the struggle between the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority and Hamas.
The teachers, members of Palestinian Authority’s professional unions, called for the strike at the beginning of the school year in Gaza.
The unions identifying with Fatah, including the teachers and their colleagues in the medical field, are protesting what they call illegal appointments made by the Hamas government.
However, the Hamas claimed that the basis for the strike is political and not professional.
Since the beginning of the strike last week, Hamas managed to find substitutes for most of the teachers by appointing thousands of Hamas loyalists.
The Palestinian Authority said that Hamas members threatened the teachers who are still striking since even when they return teaching they will be placed in far-off schools as punishment.
The PA announced that it will cease paying the salaries of teachers who do not abide by the strike. The names of the strikebreakers were published in the media.
In the meantime, it seems as though Hamas has been successful in contending with the teachers’ strike and conducting studies, more or less, as usual.
However, the doctors’ strike has posed a much bigger problem. As opposed to the situation in the education system, Hamas has found difficulty in filling empty spaces in the hospitals and clinics.
Hamas has claimed that since the doctors’ strike last week, more than five people died due to lack of medical treatment.
The organization’s leadership sharply criticized the strikers and blamed them for endangering the lives of the Hamas’ ill. Thus, they organized protests adjacent to the doctors’ homes while others were simply detained. The Hamas has also termed this strike as a political move.
AFP contributed to the report
