Half a million Palestinians have lost jobs since Israeli war in October 2023

By Aysar Alais and Rania Abu Shamala

RAMALLAH, Palestine/ ISTANBUL (AA) – More than half a million Palestinians have lost their source of livelihood in the West Bank and Gaza since the start of the Israeli war in October 2023, a trade union said Saturday.

In a statement, the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions said that workers face systematic blockade, closure, and daily raids by the Israeli army.

The Israeli policies “constitute a compounded crime” against Palestinian workers and undermine their natural right to work and live in dignity, it added.

“Israeli occupation policies over more than two years of continuous aggression have led to more than 500,000 Palestinian workers losing their livelihood, with unemployment rates rising to unprecedented levels exceeding 50% in the West Bank and more than 84% in the Gaza Strip,” the statement said.

It explained that Palestinian workers incurred losses of over $9 billion due to being prevented from reaching their workplaces, in addition to the destruction of local productive sectors, primarily agriculture, construction, and services.

According to the statement, 44 workers have been killed, hundreds injured, and over 34,000 others detained by the Israeli army since October 2023.

The federation held the Israeli government “fully responsible for these massive financial losses and for the killing of dozens of Palestinian workers at military checkpoints or due to settler attacks while they were trying to secure a livelihood for their families, in a blatant violation of international labor conventions and the Geneva Conventions.”

The Israeli army has killed more than 70,700 Palestinians and injured over 170,000 others in Gaza since October 2023. Attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers have also killed at least 1,097 Palestinians and injured nearly 11,000 others in the occupied West Bank during the same period.