Palestinians demonstrated in West Bank cities Tuesday in protest against an
increase in prices of fuel and basic goods. The Palestinian Authority,
meanwhile, announced that it was studying the possibility of importing cheaper
fuel from Arab countries.
In Ramallah, scores of young men blocked the
main road leading to the Mukata presidential compound in protest against the
high cost of living. The protesters carried banners that read: “No to
Starvation” and “No to the Government of Disgrace” – a reference to the
government of PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
In Hebron, dozens of
protesters burned effigies of Fayyad and shouted slogans denouncing his
government.
Earlier, dozens of truck drivers staged a sit-in strike in
the center of Hebron, blocking several main roads.
In the nearby town of
Dura, Palestinians foiled an attempt by a man to set himself on fire in protest
against the high cost of living.
Similar protests also erupted in
Bethlehem and the nearby Dehaishe refugee camp, where hundreds of Palestinians
took to the streets, demanding that the PA government take measures to solve the
economic crisis.
In a bid to calm the protesters, PA President Mahmoud
Abbas announced that public employees would receive full salaries for August
later this week. In recent months, PA employees have been receiving only half of
their salaries due to a severe financial crisis in the
government.
Sources close to Abbas said he was also planning to ask for a
delay in the decision to raise the price of fuel and some basic
goods.
Fuad Shobaki, head of the Palestinian Petroleum Corporation, said
the PA was now studying the possibility of importing fuel from a number of Arab
countries.
He said that such a move would require coordination with
Israel, and that he expected Jerusalem to agree to the proposition.