Palestinian Authority Fires 6145 Employees in Hamas-Controlled Gaza

Armed militants from Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades hold a press conference in the refug
JAMAL ARURI/AFP/Getty

The Times of Israel reports: The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday “sent into early retirement” 6,145 employees in the Gaza Strip, declaring the move part of a strategy to force the Hamas terror group to cede control of the Palestinian enclave.

“This measure, previous measures, and any other measures that may be taken in this framework, are temporary, and are connected to Hamas abandoning [Palestinian] division,” the spokesperson for the government in Ramalllah, Yusuf al-Mahmoud, said in a statement to the official PA news site Wafa.

Since April, the PA has been carrying out a series of tough measures aimed at forcing Hamas to cede control of the coastal enclave, which it took over in a violent conflict with Fatah in 2007. The measures have included reducing the flow of electricity by 35 percent, and slashing government salaries and medical aid provided to the Strip.

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