In the West Bank, a winter storm causes the Red Cross to postpone family visits scheduled for today and 1/8 to Palestinians in Israeli prisons. The IDF installs an iron gate at the entrance of a village nr. Nablus, then bars Palestinians from crossing in or out. (MNA, WAFA 1/7; PCHR 1/15)
Hamas criticizes the PA unity govt.’s 12/30 decision to rehire civil servants who lost their jobs when Hamas came to power in 2007, with spokesperson Abu Zuhri saying, “We have endured a great deal from this govt., but it still enjoys the sufferings of Gaza. They had better stop testing our endurance.” PA PM Hamdallah earlier suggests that the civil servants hired by the Hamas-run govt. should either be offered severance pay or small projects to work on. (MNA 1/9)