GAZA CITY: The Ministry of Education in the Hamas-ruled government in Gaza announced yesterday that striking teachers will lose their jobs if they do not return to work today.
The teachers’ strike in Gaza was called in August by a Fatah-linked teachers’ union based in the West Bank. As most teachers receive their salaries from the West Bank government of President Mahmoud Abbas, thousands of teachers responded to the strike. But the Hamas Education Ministry hired hundreds of new teachers and administrators and schools in Gaza kept running.
The ministry said in a statement yesterday that the strike was politically motivated, and that it gave the striking teachers many opportunities to return to work, and to the union to end the strike. The ministry said it would not submit to what it labeled “blackmail by teachers.”
In the West Bank, teachers’ union chief Bassam Zakarneh said yesterday’s decision “reflects the real face of this government, the face of oppression and using force.”
On Monday, the union decided to extend the strike for another week. Zakarneh said the striking teachers would continue to receive their salaries from the West Bank government.
As Egypt works to bridge the gap between Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, yesterday’s decision will further heighten tensions between the rival factions. Last year Hamas took over the Gaza Strip by force after routing Fatah forces loyal to Abbas.
