Documents leaked online appeared to show that in 2017, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had quietly agreed to increase monthly salaries of ministers by 67 percent, from $3,000 to $5,000, as well as boosting the prime minister's salary from $4,000 to $6,000.
According to The Associated Press, the raises were kept secret from the public and approved by Abbas, two senior officials said, overriding a 2004 law that fixed ministers' salaries. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue with the media.
The cash-strapped Palestinian government has pledged to suspend a secret increase which came as the Palestinian government faces desperate financial shortfalls. The Palestinian Authority has been forced to halve the salaries of many employees in recent months due to an ongoing financial dispute with Israel. The PA has been forced over the past months to borrow money from banks, and that Abbas has called for a financial safety net during the Arab and Islamic summits in Makkah in Saudi Arabia.
Nickolay Mladenov, UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said he had spoken to recently installed Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, who had agreed to cancel the raises.
"At a time when the Palestinian people are struggling with economic hardship, when salaries were cut in Gaza, such decisions defy logic and rightly anger people," Mladenov tweeted in reaction to the news of the salary increase. "I spoke to DrShtayyeh who committed to end this practice immediately and investigate."
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