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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Gaza doctors strike against Hamas sackings |
| 2008-08-31 |
| GAZA CITY - Doctors in the Gaza Strip went on strike Saturday to protest the sacking of some 50 doctors and other health workers by the Hamas-run health ministry, saying the decision was politically motivated. "Today we have begun a total strike in the government-run health sector in the Gaza Strip and there is good participation, with 70 percent taking part," an official in the health workers' union told AFP on condition of anonymity. The official said emergency services providers and health workers loyal to the Islamist Hamas movement which has ruled Gaza since June 2007 were not taking part in the strike. The doctors are protesting the firing of 46 doctors and administrators linked to the Fatah movement of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, which was largely driven from Gaza when Hamas seized power. Hamas downplayed the strike, saying the number participating was "very limited" and claimed the doctors strike and a teachers strike held last week were both politically motivated. "(The strikes) follow calls issued by Fatah-run unions in Ramallah," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said, referring to the headquarters of Abbas's Palestinian Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. "It is aimed at strengthening the blockade on Hamas, the Palestinian government, and the Palestinian people," he said, referring to an Israeli virtual blockade of the territory enacted after Hamas took power. Abbas's health ministry in Ramallah said it was not involved in the strike but said it "understood the motivations for it, which come from the oppressive actions taken against our workers in the Gaza Strip." The Palestinian Authority still pays the salaries of all civil servants in the Gaza Strip, including most doctors and health workers. The parallel Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza issued its own statement slamming the strike, saying "these poisonous calls come when there are more than 1,600 patients in desperate need of treatment and care." Hamas called on all workers to remain at their posts and threatened to arrest those responsible for ordering the strike. "We will not let anyone mock the health security of our citizens," Hamas-appointed health minister Bassem Naim told reporters, threatening "the worst form of punishment" for those who do. |
| Posted by:Steve White |