بلدية غزة تشارك في جلسة نقاش حول الاستجابة للمساءلة والمشاركة خلال حرب الإبادة

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In Light of a Report by the “AMAN” Coalition

Gaza Municipality Participates in a Discussion Session on Accountability and Community Participation During the Genocidal War

Gaza Municipality took part in a discussion session on a report entitled “Gaza Municipality’s Response to the Requirements of Accountability and Community Participation During the Genocidal War on the Gaza Strip”, presented by the Coalition for Integrity and Accountability (AMAN) via the Zoom platform. The session was attended by Gaza Mayor Dr. Yahya Saraj, several members of the Municipal Council and department directors, a team from AMAN, as well as representatives from civil society organizations in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The session aimed to highlight Gaza Municipality’s ability to sustain the provision of vital public services during the genocidal war, assess its adherence to the principles of transparency and accountability, and promote community participation under the severe humanitarian conditions facing the city’s residents.

Dr. Yahya Saraj, Mayor of Gaza, noted that the most pressing challenges confronting the population during the ongoing aggression are the acute shortages of food and water, which now pose the gravest threat alongside the killing and destruction that have become part of daily life, particularly for children, women, and the elderly. He stressed that the Municipality is exerting significant efforts to maintain the bare minimum of life-sustaining services and bolster residents’ resilience, in circumstances where “a drop of water is equal to a drop of blood.”

He further explained that the Internal Audit Unit was temporarily suspended during the initial phase of the aggression but resumed work gradually at the onset of the second truce and is now operating regularly.

Municipal Services

For his part, Wael Baloosha, Director of AMAN’s Gaza Office, presented a report on the state of Gaza Municipality’s services, community participation mechanisms, and complaints systems, along with the challenges faced and approaches adopted to address them. The report also offered a set of practical recommendations that could be adapted by other local authorities.

Marwa Abu Odeh, AMAN’s Advocacy and Community Accountability Coordinator, outlined the report’s key themes, noting that Gaza Municipality had sustained massive destruction due to the ongoing Israeli aggression since October 2023. More than 75% of the Municipality’s facilities and vehicles were destroyed, over 64 of its employees were killed, and critical infrastructure for water, sanitation, and waste management was severely damaged.

Despite this, the Municipality reprioritized its work to provide the minimum essential services in water supply, sanitation, waste removal, and road clearance, relying on limited emergency plans and flexible communication channels with the local community.

Participation and Accountability

The report indicated that, prior to the war, the Municipality had established a strong foundation for community participation through neighborhood committees, youth councils, consultative meetings, and allocating 2% of its budget to support community initiatives.

During the war, the Municipality activated its Community Engagement Committee and maintained weekly meetings with neighborhood committee representatives, despite displacement and communication breakdowns in many areas. It also encouraged volunteer initiatives to support water and sanitation services in shelters and affected neighborhoods.

The report further noted that accountability systems were severely impaired due to the destruction of municipal buildings and the disruption of external oversight mechanisms. Nevertheless, the Municipality managed to reactivate its Complaints Department and partially restore its electronic reporting system, while continuing to submit verbal reports to the Municipal Council.

It also highlighted the Municipality’s commitment to documenting its field activities and conveying residents’ needs through non-traditional channels when inspections and external audits were not possible.

Challenges

The report identified key challenges, including the continuation of hostilities, destruction of infrastructure, displacement of staff, power and communication outages, loss of equipment and spare parts, and severe financial constraints. These factors undermined service continuity and reduced the ability of community committees to engage, prompting the Municipality to develop decentralized communication methods and alternative roles for neighborhood committees.

To cope with these conditions, the Municipality relied on neighborhood committees to operate local water wells, distribute water barrels, collect waste, and relay complaints. It is currently working to form an advisory committee to the Municipal Council, comprising representatives from various community groups, as well as a youth council to enhance participation and grassroots oversight.

A National Participatory Model

Dr. Azmi Al-Shuaibi, Advisor to AMAN’s Board of Directors on Anti-Corruption, emphasized that the real challenge for leaders in Palestine is the ability to work effectively under emergency conditions such as those in Gaza. He commended the Mayor of Gaza as an example of an accountable leader who is willing to assume responsibility.

He called for a shift from centralized approaches to a national participatory model led by local authorities and communities to ensure the provision of essential services that preserve citizens’ dignity and survival.

Dr. Ghassan Abu Hattab of the Birzeit University Center for Development Studies remarked that what Gaza is enduring is an attempt to uproot life itself, underscoring the need for scientific review and objective critique of such experiences and reports.

Amal Siyam, Director of the Women’s Affairs Center in Gaza, stressed the importance of accountability and community participation, particularly in waste removal, fuel provision, and ensuring worker safety—challenges that far exceed the Municipality’s current capacities.

Finally, Abdullah Shershera, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ajeal Foundation, called for the development of a scientific model to measure accountability during emergencies, especially under exceptional circumstances such as the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.