A member of the Fatah movement said the movement strongly rejects Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ steps to impose new punitive measures against the Gaza Strip.

However, the source who asked not to be named said the Palestinian Authority does not seem to have any intention to impose more sanctions on its Gazan employees, many of whom have been forced into retirement.

“There are institutions that serve the people, and the Palestinian state is not limited to the occupied West Bank,” he said.

The source pointed out that many Fatah members are pushing towards preventing the imposition of new measures against Gaza especially forcing more employees to retire in the ministries of health and education.

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Fatah Revolutionary Council and Central Committee members, as well as members of the PLO central and national councils, demand the immediate lifting of sanctions imposed on Gaza.

With regards to local reports claiming that more than 70 per cent of the Palestinian Authority’s employees in Gaza will be forced to retire in early 2019, the head of the PA’s staff union, Aref Abu Jarad said no statement has been issued from any official source with regards this.

According to Abu Jarad, as many as 25,000 Gaza employees have been forced to retire, leaving only 12,000 civil servants in Gaza.