Egypt calls for compensating jobless Gazans affected by Israeli war at ILO session

Ahram Online , Thursday 6 Jun 2024

Minister of Labour Hassan Shehata, speaking on behalf of the Arab group at an International Labour Organization (ILO) session in Geneva on Thursday, called for compensating the 5,000 Gazans who lost their jobs in the West Bank due to the Israeli war.

ILO session

 

The session addressed workers’ conditions in Palestine and the occupied Arab territories.

Minister Shehata stated that Palestinian workers have endured the most difficult conditions since the beginning of the Israeli occupation, highlighting Israel's continued violations of their rights in the occupied Arab territories.

The labour market has collapsed and economic activity ceased, causing the unemployment rate to reach its highest level in the Gaza Strip, the minister added. 

He also noted that the strip's infrastructure, valued at approximately $20 billion, was damaged, stating that the labour market in the West Bank was also greatly affected, losing around 300,000 jobs.

The Israeli occupation has tightened its restrictions on the movement of workers, and deaths resulting from work accidents in the Israeli construction sector have increased by around 33 percent, Shehata explained.

Furthermore, the violence of extremist settlers has grown, and Israel has continued its illegal settlement expansion in the occupied Arab territories, he continued.

Shehata called on the ILO to support the 5,000 Gazan workers who lost their jobs and homes in the West Bank and provide humanitarian relief to workers affected by the war along with their families.

He also expressed Arab countries' strong condemnation of Israel's brutal war, crimes, and violations of international law in Gaza as well as its refusal to receive the ILO annual delegation.

Additionally, Shehata called on Israel, as the occupying power, to provide appropriate compensation to all Palestinian workers whose work permits were arbitrarily cancelled.

The minister also urged for paying compensation to Palestinian workers who suffered material and moral damages due to arbitrary detention and ill-treatment by the Israeli forces.

Israel should release the Palestinian clearance funds it has withheld, causing the Palestinian Authority to fail to fulfil its obligations, particularly paying the public employees' wages, he emphasized.

Moreover, Shehata urged the ILO to raise Palestine's membership level in the organization during the International Labor Conference's next session, aligning with the resolution issued by the United Nations General Assembly.

He also called on Israel to respect international legitimacy, especially by implementing decisions issued by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, and halt the war in Gaza.

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