Dahlan-linked Gazans protest over 'withheld' pay

Dozens of civil servants supporting sacked Fatah figure Mohamed Dahlan demonstrated on Sunday in the Gaza Strip, accusing the Palestinian Authority (PA) of having cut off their salaries.

Dahlan's supporters, who have previously rallied in his support, gathered outside the UN's headquarters in Gaza City holding banners featuring slogans such as "My salary is my right" and "Gaza has enough crises.”

"Employees are standing up against the policy of intimidation," Marwa al-Masri, a leading Fatah member, told the Anadolu Agency at the protest.

She called on PA President Mahmoud Abbas, a Fatah leader himself, to rescind the decision.

A PA official close to Dahlan had told Anadolu last week that 200 pro-Dahlan security personnel had discovered that their names had not been included on the list of civil servants who recently received part of their salaries from Gaza banks.

He said the employees had been excluded due to their support of Dahlan.

The Palestinian unity government, in place since last summer, has yet to comment on the employees' accusations.

However, the West Bank's security chief Adnan al-Dameiri said last month that a group of security personnel stationed in the Gaza Strip had been fired for violating the security apparatus' code of conduct and that the sacked employees had been replaced.

In recent months, tensions have mounted between Abbas and Dahlan, who was dismissed from Fatah in 2011 over disagreements with the movement's leadership.

The tensions came to a head in March last year, when Abbas accused Dahlan of spying for Israel and of involvement in the assassination of Palestinian leaders including the late Fatah leader Yasser Arafat.

In December, Dahlan, who has reportedly advised the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, was referred to a court in the West Bank over corruption charges, which he insists are politically motivated.

Serbia’s government has reportedly granted citizenship to Dahlan. 

Dahlan, his family and five key political supporters were also granted Serbian citizenship between February 2013 and June 2014, according to documents from the state’s official gazette, reported the Guardian.