PALESTINIANS MARK WORLD LABOUR DAY WITH DISMAY

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".