By Saleh Jadallah
GAZA STRIP, May 5 (Bernama) -- Labour Day was celebrated on May 1 in some countries with carnivals and parades. However, Palestinians marked that day with great dismay and sense of desperation.
Thousands of Palestinian workers were mainly depending on their work inside Israel - their occupied Palestinian territories - but when the second Intifada (uprising) erupted against Israel in 2000, they lost their main source of income.
Deprived of unemployment opportunities by the Israeli regime, the rate of unemployment increased tremendously.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip has reached 38 per cent which also indicates that the rate of poverty among workers in the blockaded Gaza Strip is about 33 per cent.
A recent study conducted by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) showed that 80 per cent of Palestinians depended on food supplies and other aid distributed by the international organisation.
The Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights stated that Israel practised racial discrimination against Palestinian workers. It said the workers were prevented from reaching the West Bank and the occupied territories to pursue jobs.
The centre also noted that Israel undermined the Palestinian economy and destroyed the infrastructure by imposing closure and blockade in the coastal territory. As a result of the lack of construction materials, the building process is almost suspended and workers have no tasks to perform.
The General Union of Palestinian Workers has discussed the possibility of filing lawsuits against the owners of Israeli companies to get them to pay financial benefits to Palestinian workers who used to work inside the occupied territories before the Israeli pullout from Gaza Strip in 2005.
The head of the union, Shaheer Saed, said the initial estimation of the financial benefits was about 65 million Israeli Shekel (NIS) (US$19,250,000).
In blockaded Gaza, workers adapt to the frequent power outage. They have to cope with the six hours of electricity supply a day, whether in the morning or night. Sometimes they have to return to their houses when the power supply is cut in the middle of work.
The Al-Wadeya ice-cream factory operation is largely suspended since the start of the Israeli embargo. Khaled, the director of the factory, cannot freeze the huge amount of products as the generators will cost him a lot if he wants to run the giant refrigerators for the ice-cream.
"Our factory is paralysed. It was also extensively damaged during the Israeli war on Gaza. We used to supply most of the markets with our products four years ago," Khaled said.
Palestinian worker Hamed Kota has been jobless since the second Palestinian Intifada in 2000. He used to work as a tailor inside the occupied territories, but after the uprising, Israeli authorities prevented him from continuing his work.
He tries to satisfy his family's needs by knitting pieces of garment for some people. But he totally relies on his ration of food supply distributed by UNRWA every three months. The father of five lives in a narrow house at the Al-Shati refugee camp.
Kota sees Labour Day as a reminder of sorrow and frustration. "Workers throughout the world celebrate this day and no one is looking at our suffering," said the man in a sad tone. "I have to pay fees for two of my sons who are studying in university," he added.
To the south of Gaza Strip, on May 1, hundreds of Palestinian workers took part in a protest calling for job opportunities.
And in front of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, demonstrators urged the new Egyptian government to end the Israeli blockade in Gaza. They held banners written in Arabic words, "We have the right to live in dignity".
-- BERNAMA
GAZA STRIP, May 5 (Bernama) -- Labour Day was celebrated on May 1 in some countries with carnivals and parades. However, Palestinians marked that day with great dismay and sense of desperation.
Thousands of Palestinian workers were mainly depending on their work inside Israel - their occupied Palestinian territories - but when the second Intifada (uprising) erupted against Israel in 2000, they lost their main source of income.
Deprived of unemployment opportunities by the Israeli regime, the rate of unemployment increased tremendously.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip has reached 38 per cent which also indicates that the rate of poverty among workers in the blockaded Gaza Strip is about 33 per cent.
A recent study conducted by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) showed that 80 per cent of Palestinians depended on food supplies and other aid distributed by the international organisation.
The Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights stated that Israel practised racial discrimination against Palestinian workers. It said the workers were prevented from reaching the West Bank and the occupied territories to pursue jobs.
The centre also noted that Israel undermined the Palestinian economy and destroyed the infrastructure by imposing closure and blockade in the coastal territory. As a result of the lack of construction materials, the building process is almost suspended and workers have no tasks to perform.
The General Union of Palestinian Workers has discussed the possibility of filing lawsuits against the owners of Israeli companies to get them to pay financial benefits to Palestinian workers who used to work inside the occupied territories before the Israeli pullout from Gaza Strip in 2005.
The head of the union, Shaheer Saed, said the initial estimation of the financial benefits was about 65 million Israeli Shekel (NIS) (US$19,250,000).
In blockaded Gaza, workers adapt to the frequent power outage. They have to cope with the six hours of electricity supply a day, whether in the morning or night. Sometimes they have to return to their houses when the power supply is cut in the middle of work.
The Al-Wadeya ice-cream factory operation is largely suspended since the start of the Israeli embargo. Khaled, the director of the factory, cannot freeze the huge amount of products as the generators will cost him a lot if he wants to run the giant refrigerators for the ice-cream.
"Our factory is paralysed. It was also extensively damaged during the Israeli war on Gaza. We used to supply most of the markets with our products four years ago," Khaled said.
Palestinian worker Hamed Kota has been jobless since the second Palestinian Intifada in 2000. He used to work as a tailor inside the occupied territories, but after the uprising, Israeli authorities prevented him from continuing his work.
He tries to satisfy his family's needs by knitting pieces of garment for some people. But he totally relies on his ration of food supply distributed by UNRWA every three months. The father of five lives in a narrow house at the Al-Shati refugee camp.
Kota sees Labour Day as a reminder of sorrow and frustration. "Workers throughout the world celebrate this day and no one is looking at our suffering," said the man in a sad tone. "I have to pay fees for two of my sons who are studying in university," he added.
To the south of Gaza Strip, on May 1, hundreds of Palestinian workers took part in a protest calling for job opportunities.
And in front of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, demonstrators urged the new Egyptian government to end the Israeli blockade in Gaza. They held banners written in Arabic words, "We have the right to live in dignity".
-- BERNAMA
