WITH Israel continuing to recklessly expand its military occupation of Palestine in violation of international law, including by maintaining its crippling siege of Gaza, Palestinian workers’ rights have never been more under threat.

The ongoing occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza undermines any prospect of a viable Palestinian economy and leaves millions of Palestinian workers vulnerable to precarious, low-paid work, unemployment and underemployment.

For trade unions, the Israeli occupation makes it extremely difficult to organise workers and campaign for their rights – and a lack of resources makes matters even worse.

It is our role as British trade unions to stand in solidarity with Palestinian workers.

Next Saturday’s Palestine Solidarity Campaign Trade Union Conference is a crucial opportunity to meet, discuss, hear from specialists and collectively formulate the next steps for the movement for justice and equality for the Palestinian people.

Israel’s total control of the West Bank, including the role of the shameful wall of separation, the settler-only roads, the settlements themselves and their attached infrastructure, means that Palestinian workers and businesses are severely restricted in their day to day activities.

Most Palestinians are denied access to Jerusalem and prevented from travelling to another part of the West Bank — and this applies to the movement of goods too — which contributes to the high unemployment rate of over 20 per cent. This forces Palestinians to work in the illegal Israeli settlements, mainly in the manufacturing, building and agricultural industries.

While a small number are able to get permits to work in Israel, this is only after passing through the restrictive checkpoints and wall. It is here that workers have to queue for hours on end, sometimes from 3am, just to be able to reach their workplace on time.

Israel’s restrictions and closures also severely affect the Palestinian farming industry, with much of the land now behind the wall or on settlement land. The olive industry provides for approximately 100,000 families, and the sector employs large numbers of unskilled labourers and about 15 per cent of working women. Furthermore, tens of thousands of olive trees are destroyed by Israeli settlers every year, while settler violence against property and individuals continues to rise.

Gaza has suffered a tight land, sea and air blockade by the Israeli government for the last 11 years, which severely restricts the passage of goods and people in and out of the area, effectively creating an open-air prison for the two million Palestinians who live there.

The Israeli blockade has ravaged the local economy, resulting in high levels of unemployment and poverty, with regular attacks on the Gaza Strip’s fishing and agricultural capacity, for example.

In 2016, the unemployment rate was 42 per cent – among the highest in the world. For youth, the figure is 60 per cent and it is 65 per cent for women. Over 50 per cent of Gaza households suffer from moderate or severe food insecurity.

Due to the blockade and the ongoing attacks on Palestinians in Gaza, such as in 2014 – when over 2,000 Palestinians, including 500 children, were killed in 50 days – and during the recent Great March of Return protests, the population has been left without drinkable water, sanitation systems, medical facilities or energy supplies.

What can be done?

The struggle for workers’ rights in Palestine is led by workers and their unions, but international solidarity plays a vital role in supporting them.

PSC’s London conference for trade unionists, “Solidarity with Palestine: Next steps for the UK Trade Union movement,” is supported by the TUC, Unite, Unison, GMB, the National Education Union, Aslef, the University and College Union, RMT, the Fire Brigades Union, TSSA, PCS, Thompsons Solicitors and the Communication Workers Union. It will feature Palestinian and British speakers and provide the space and tools for trade unionists to further our solidarity work for Palestine.

Featured sessions include the situation of Palestinian workers under occupation, how to take BDS action, how we can make a stronger case for Palestinian rights and the ways we can build on the existing solidarity work by trade unions in Britain.

See www.palestinecampaign.org/events/solidarity-with-palestine-next-steps-for-the-uk-trade-union-movement for more information.