Also on Thursday, the separate Palestinian governments in the West Bank and Gaza had a battle of wills over the Palestinian weekend. Government workers have always taken off Thursday and Friday, but this week, Salam Fayyad, who leads the emergency cabinet in the West Bank, decreed that the official weekend was changing to Friday and Saturday.
In Gaza, hundreds of Palestinian Authority employees headed to work at 8 a.m. on Thursday, intending to follow the orders of the West Bank government, which pays their salaries. Hamas dispatched forces to prevent the workers from reaching their jobs.
Muhammad Bkair, 30, a Housing Ministry employee, said five members of the Executive Force, the Hamas police militia, were blocking the entrance to his workplace. He said he and a crowd of other workers waited 30 minutes, then three jeeps arrived with reinforcements.
“They kept shooting in the air and referred to us as sheep,” Mr. Bkair said. “They referred to one employee as a collaborator. We were obliged to leave.” But, he added, “On Saturday we will not come.”
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