The President of the Public Servants Union, Bassam Zakarnah, stated on Monday that the Palestinian Court of Justice based in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, decided today against the Palestinian caretaker governments' decision to force the Palestinians to pay all their tax and bills before renewing their official documents. The caretaker government, headed by Primer Salam Fayyad, decided last December that the Palestinians living in the Palestinian Authority controlled areas,of the West Bank and Gaza, that they must pay all taxes and energy bills- Water and Electricity- before being alloweded to renew official documents such as, driving license, passports or ID cards. The court ruled that the caretaker Government should cease this practise until the final rulling is issued by the court. Zakarnah praised the court desision, and sent a message to the Palestinian public employees ordering them to stop implementing this punitive action until the court reaches a final decision. Zakarnah also announced that on Thursday of this week there will be a general strike by Palestinian public employees due to the lack of corporation by the government with the Union of the public employees. The Palestinian caretaker government, based in Ramallah did not comment on this issue. The Palestinian caretaker government of Salam Fayyad was appointed by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in June 2007, after Abbas fired the elected National Unity government headed by Hamas after the later took total control of Gaza following several months of infighting between Hamas and Abbas' Fatah party. Translated by Ghassan Bannoura – IMEMC News.
