The most important government decisions: setting the date for disbursing salaries

Ramallah - Ofoq News - The Council of Ministers warned of the serious humanitarian repercussions of the decision of a number of international relief institutions to reduce or stop their programmes, the latest of which was the World Food Program’s announcement of stopping aid to about half a million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip due to a “lack of funding”, and the consequent threat to the continuation of the relief system, and the exacerbation of the suffering of poor families, widows, orphans, the elderly and people with disabilities, in addition to the risks of high rates of malnutrition among children and pregnant women.

In this regard, the Minister of Social Development met with the Acting Executive Director of the World Food Programme, Karl Sikau, and informed him of the dangers of stopping support for families in need, and the joint efforts to mobilize sufficient funding to meet the needs of our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The Council of Ministers renewed its call on the United Nations and donor countries to provide the necessary funding to ensure the continuation of aid, and to intensify pressure on the occupation to open the crossings and secure the flow of humanitarian supplies. It also appealed to the Arab and Islamic countries and the international community to provide urgent financial and relief support to alleviate the suffering of our people in the Gaza Strip.

The Council also heard a briefing from the Minister of Public Works and Housing on the efforts made by the government and its partners in the field of shelter and rubble removal in the Gaza Strip, including the completion of preparing 23 shelter centers for displaced persons, in addition to providing about 700 tents made of reinforced plastic that were distributed to farmers, and restoring about 800 partially damaged units in the Strip to enable these families to return to their homes, and work is underway to repair about a thousand other units in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme.

In this context, the Council appreciated the efforts of government teams working on the ground in the Gaza Strip, and reiterated its call on various parties to facilitate their work, to serve our people and alleviate their suffering.

In a related context, the Council of Ministers warned of the escalation of settlers’ attacks and thefts during the olive harvest season, which affected Palestinians, foreign supporters, and diplomatic missions, as more than 350 terrorist attacks were documented since the start of the olive season, as part of a systematic policy targeting the Palestinians, their land, and their property.

In this regard, the Council heard a briefing from the Minister of Agriculture in which he indicated that despite the attacks and obstacles, the harvesting of about 50% of the olive fruits had been completed, in conjunction with the continuation of the national campaign to harvest olives in various locations in partnership with civil, security and civil institutions, and foreign sympathizers.

In a related context, the Council directed the competent authorities to tighten control procedures over the olive oil market and hold accountable anyone who tampers with public health, appreciating the efforts of the supervisory and security teams working on the ground to monitor market control and protect citizens and their safety.

On the financial level, and in light of the occupation continuing to completely withhold Palestinian tax revenues for more than a year and a half, which constitute 68% of total public revenues, the Minister of Finance informed the Council of the ongoing efforts to secure the disbursement of a batch of public employee salaries next week, with the Ministry of Finance to issue a statement in this regard once the financial and technical arrangements are completed.

In addition, the Council adopted the recommendations of the committee charged with studying the demands of the Public Transport Syndicate and the burdens facing the sector in light of the briefing provided by the Minister of Transport and Communications, and in this regard, the competent authorities to accelerate the implementation of the necessary interventions to reduce operating costs and reduce the financial burdens on the public transport sector and citizens.

In another context, the Council of Ministers adopted the recommendations of the national team for preparing a population centers guide to ensure the completion of the study and development of standards for classifying urban and rural communities, and the completion of the unified national framework for names, symbols and geographical boundaries, in a way that contributes to protecting and safeguarding Palestinian names and geographical areas.

The Council also discussed, in the first reading, a draft amended system for investment incentives in the field of using renewable energy technologies, in a way that enhances increased reliance on clean energy to reach 30% until 2030 within the government’s plan and the energy security initiative.