On Labor Day; Workers Unity Bloc appeals ending the siege

Tuesday May 01, 2007 01:13 by Najeeb Farraj - IMEMC

May 1 marks Labor Day, but the Palestinian territories remain under a strict siege and the Palestinian workers remain unemployed facing poverty and hardships. The Palestinian Labor Unity Bloc demanded the Palestinian government and the Legislative Council to act in order to lift the unjust international, Israeli-American led siege on the Palestinians.

Workers searched by Israeli troops

The Bloc demanded providing the workers with the needed social security and to maintain and encourage the national products.

Also, the Bloc demanded the specialized authorities to protect the rights of the workers, and solve the issues of unpaid salaries of the governmental employees and security personnel.

The Bloc further demanded the creation of a national fund to solve the issue of unemployment, which has significantly increased due to the international embargo imposed on the Palestinian people.

The embargo was enforced on the Palestinian territories after the United States and Israel led a campaign against the elected Palestinian government following January 2006 legislative elections, in which Hamas movement garnered an overwhelming victory.

The embargo remained in place even after the formation of the National Unity Government.

Meanwhile, the Bloc stated that on the event of May 1, the International Labor day, at least two and a half million Palestinians are living below poverty line, and that unemployment rates are gradually increasing due to the Israeli-American embargo on the Palestinian territories.

The Bloc also said that the Israeli closures and the Annexation Wall divided the Palestinian territories into isolated cantons and barred dozens of thousands of workers from moving freely.

The Wall also barred the farmers from reaching their orchards, and agricultural lands, and thousands of Dunams of farmlands became dry as the famers were unable to reach them due to the Wall and the Israeli roadblocks.

The Bloc also demanded the Palestinian security devices to act in order to end the chaos and insecurity in the Palestinian territories, and to apprehend those responsible for these attacks.

Moreover, the Bloc demanded equal rights and social justice between men and women without any discrimination.

It also appealed the Arab World and the international countries that sympathize with the Palestinians and their cause, in addition to the Labor movement across the globe, to support the Palestinian people, and act in solidarity with them in order to lift the international embargo.

The Bloc also vowed continued support to all laborers in order to maintain a decent life for them, and to achieve their rights.

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