Palestine pulls another strike: The public sector puts the breaks on

Public sector workers in Palestine have started a two-day general strike this Wednesday [2], kicking off 19 December.

The industrial action comes in response to Israel withholding tax revenues, which the Palestinian Authority depends on in order to pay government employees.

Israel is withholding $100 million of revenue [3], which it says is because of unpaid debts, but Israel’s decision is widely seen as being because of the PA's successful bid to be upgraded to ‘non-observer’ status at the United Nations in November this year.

The head of the government’s employees union, Bassam  Zakarneh, was quoted by Reuters as saying , "This strike is against Israel's piracy."

The government is one of the largest employers in the West Bank, with 153,000 staff. Some 50,000 workers took part in the work-stoppages on Wednesday.

Israel has often halted the transfer of tax funds - which it collects under the 1994 Paris protocol - in response to political or diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

[4] © 2012 Al Bawaba (Albawaba.com)