Geneva (agencies)
Gilbert Hongbo, President of the International Labor Organization, yesterday criticized the severe deterioration in the rights of Palestinian workers since the start of the war in Gaza, and called for an end to the new restrictions that prevent them from working in Israel.
Israel’s treatment of Palestinian workers has been subject to scrutiny for decades by the United Nations, but this scrutiny has increased since the October 7 war, with criticism focusing on the loss of more than half a million Palestinians from their jobs and Israel’s exclusion of about 200,000 Palestinians from them for security reasons.
“This year has been the most difficult for Palestinian workers since 1967,” Hongbo said at a meeting in Geneva.
In a speech he delivered during the presentation of the International Labor Organization’s report on Palestinian working conditions, he added that workers’ rights had been severely damaged, and called on Israel to reopen the labor market.
The International Labor Organization, one of the oldest United Nations bodies established after World War I, aims to enhance the application of international labor standards.
The organization’s report is an important annual event since 1980, but it is the first time that it has provided directive recommendations.
Among the recommendations are a call for Israel to reopen its labor market, and for the International Labor Organization to play a role in reviving Gaza by helping to create job opportunities and social protection plans for workers.
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