West Bank university staff to suspend classes for sit-in

University staff in the West Bank will suspend work on Tuesday to hold a protest in Ramallah, a union representative said. The Palestinian universities’ employees union council said they will hold the sit-in outside the Palestinian Legislative Council headquarters to protest the government's negligence towards higher education. Spokesman Amjad Barham said universities were unable to pay employees in full, negatively impacting their performance. He blamed the government for the year-long financial crisis at universities. The demonstration is coordinated with the students councils and university administrations, he added, warning of further protests if the government does not respond to their demands. Public university staff have been undertaking strike action since February, primarily calling for a raise in wages to match other Palestinian universities. Strike coordinators announced a deal to end the strike in late March, thanking the president for taking up their cause. But in April the union said it had yet to meet with a committee tasked with resolving the issue, slamming the government for not taking their demands seriously.