Border crossing employees, Israeli embassy to PA to strike

Defense and foreign ministry workers launched a strike in light of the Treasury's decision, which will damage the wages of hundreds of IDF appointees and envoys and Foreign Ministry ambassadors.

OCTOBER 28, 2019 21:39

A truck parks next to a security barrier inside the Kerem Shalom border crossing terminal between Israel and Gaza Strip January 16, 2018 (photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS) — A truck parks next to a security barrier inside the Kerem Shalom border crossing terminal between Israel and Gaza Strip January 16, 2018

(photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)

The border crossings between the Palestinian Authority and Israel will be closed on Tuesday, in light of protests by Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry workers and committees over wages, it was decided on Monday.

The embassies of the PA and Israel will also be closed.

Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry workers launched the strike, in light of the Treasury's decision to reduce the wages of hundreds of IDF appointees and envoys and Foreign Ministry ambassadors.

At the end of today's hearing, the committees decided that the Israeli embassies should strike and that the Palestinian-Israeli border crossings should be closed.

This week, the crisis worsened due to the Treasury instructing office-holders to act retroactively and to stop paying fees that were owed between January-September 2019.

Defense Ministry chairman Sasson Peretz and Dana Benvenisti from the Foreign Ministry staff said that, "This move is contrary to all proper, transparent and reasonable conduct and to the agreements reached between the parties. The Treasury is acting unilaterally and is imposing unacceptable conditions on us.

"The directive to stop the down payment and to retroactively collect the advance payments from the emissaries, as well as any unilateral procedure to be published by the Treasury, are not realistic and impair the work of the state envoys abroad, and harm the ambassadors' ability to function and their conditions of employment. Israel's foreign relations and the security of the State of Israel will also be negatively impacted."

Under the leadership of Mr. Arnon Bar David, the Histadrut Union decided on the following:

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1. Closure of the crossings. [Excluding the transfer of goods between the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings in Gaza.]

2. Stop handling security export applications in the Defense and Foreign ministries.

3. Severely disrupt the work of Israeli delegations abroad.

4. Discontinuation of visits to senior and overseas delegations.

The measures will take effect on Tuesday, October 29, at 1:00 a.m. Israel time.