Prisoner not eligible for PA salary after his release complains
Muhammad Sabbah is one of a number of former prisoners who began a hunger strike protesting the fact that the Palestinian Authority does not pay the same salary to prisoners who have been imprisoned less than five years as is paid to prisoners who have been imprisoned for more than five years.
Muhammad Sabbah: “After our release they (i.e., the PA) gave us medical insurance for one year only. They didn’t do any kind of extensive medical examination on us when we got out of jail… Financially, they gave us unemployment compensation for six months. After six months, they stop our salaries… [Someone imprisoned] from three months to three years, they give him 1,400 [shekels]. From three years up to five years, they give him 2,000. But after six months that’s it! They stop his salary. Of course, there’s the presidential grant. The presidential grant! There are guys whose cases were in 2008-2009 who still haven’t been paid. And they’re still demanding it.”
Muhammad Sabbah: “After our release they (i.e., the PA) gave us medical insurance for one year only. They didn’t do any kind of extensive medical examination on us when we got out of jail… Financially, they gave us unemployment compensation for six months. After six months, they stop our salaries… [Someone imprisoned] from three months to three years, they give him 1,400 [shekels]. From three years up to five years, they give him 2,000. But after six months that’s it! They stop his salary. Of course, there’s the presidential grant. The presidential grant! There are guys whose cases were in 2008-2009 who still haven’t been paid. And they’re still demanding it.”