Hamas appointing new administrations for the municipalities councils in Gaza has raised a Palestinian debate amid concerns of widening the internal division that has been ongoing for 12 years.
Gaza municipality announced two days ago appointing Yahya Sarraj as a new president – the municipality said that the new president would hold consultations with the competent committees and the city dignitaries and those concerned with naming the members of the municipal council.
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Local Government Ibrahim Radwan said that adopting this way in electing a new president came amid continuous disruption of holding local elections.
The election process witnessed the participation of elites from the community in addition to representatives from institutions, local authorities, syndicates, and universities, Radwan added.
Gaza municipality is the second biggest councils on the Palestinian territories in regards to the population, with around 1,800 employees and the highest revenues on the level of the Strip.
The German news agency (dpa) reported that Hamas authorities appointed a new president for Fatah municipality, in the far south of Gaza Strip. At the beginning of 2018, they appointed a president for Khan Yunis.
Gaza Strip didn’t witness elections for the municipal council since 2005, while the West Bank held municipal elections between 2011-2017 without the Strip due to internal disputes.
The appointment of municipal administrations in Gaza Strip - without elections- was met with criticism by Palestinian factions especially Fatah – led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Fatah Revolutionary Council Member Mohammad al-Lahham stated that Hamas imposes its leaders on Gaza Strip municipalities away from any form of democracy or accord with the organizations and the civil community.
Iyad Awadallah, an official from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said that this way of choosing president for Gaza municipality strikes the essence of the democratic process.
