The Palestinian Legislative Council today was to convene a special session in Ramallah and Gaza city via video-conferencing, during which Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismael Hanniyeh, was scheduled to address parliament.

As Mr. Hanniyeh arrived to the PLC headquarters in Gaza, a number of protestors, namely from various workers’ unions, blocked his entrance to the parliament demanding answers to why they have not been paid to date and what the current government was planning to do in order to resolve this crisis. Most government employees, who include those working in the various PA ministries, teachers, health workers and other civil servants, have not received their salaries since Hamas took majority in parliament last January.

PLC member Ms. Naimah Al Sheikh Ali was verbally assaulted by the Prime Minister’s bodyguards as she came to the aid of a woman who lay on the street to block his motorcade, as it approached the PLC premises in Gaza city. In a telephone conversation with Ms. Al Sheikh Ali, she assured MIFTAH that she was physically unharmed, but was shaken up by the whole incident. The Prime Minister’s bodyguards opened fire in the air around the crowd of protesters, and while no one was seriously injured, PLC members from FATEH staged a walk-out from the meeting, in response to the fact that the time allotted in the agenda for questioning Mr. Hanniyeh was shelved.