Palestinian Authority suspends plan to fire 6,000 Gaza civil servants

The Palestinian Authority has suspended plans to force more than 6,000 civil servants in the Gaza Strip into early retirement, Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said on Saturday.

The move was announced last month as part of a raft of punitive measures designed to pressure Hamas to cede control of the Gaza Strip.

Many of the public sector workers are in the health and education ministries, with aid officials expressing concern about the implications for Gaza's civilian population.

"We decided - in consultation with President Mahmoud Abbas - to allow education and health employees who were recently (asked) to retire early to continue their work in the ministry," a statement from Hamdallah on the official Palestinian Wafa news agency said.

It did not say whether all of the 6,150 employees would be kept on, but claimed the decision was taken to "ensure the provision of services to citizens in the [Gaza] strip".

Hamas reacted angrily to the announcement of the sackings in July, calling it "immoral, inhuman and having nothing to do with the division".

A PA government spokesman said at the time that the measure could be reversed if Hamas made efforts towards political reconciliation with West Bank-based Fatah.

Multiple efforts at political reconciliation between the rival parties have failed, and Abbas has sought to weaken Gaza's rulers in recent months.

Since April, the PA has carried out a series of punitive measures against Hamas. This includes slashing civil servants' salaries, cutting electricity to residents, and limiting medical services and funds.

The measures have been widely criticised for their impact on civilians in Gaza, exacerbating the effects of Israel's decade-long blockade on the besieged coastal territory.

Gaza is deteriorating "further and faster" than an earlier prediction made five years ago that said the enclave would become "unlivable" by 2020, the United Nations said last month.