http://lnn.laborstart.org/more.php?id=772_0_1_0
Palestinian workers’ organizations urgent appeal
Take Immediate Action to Save Lives and Protect Human Dignity in Palestine and Lebanon
The Israeli occupying power is waging a ruthless war on Palestine and Lebanon, which resulted in the killing and injuring of thousands of innocent civilians -among them many women and children- and destruction of houses. Israel is acting with the full support of the current leaders of the United States of America which are trying to impose their hegemony on the region and the world, within the framework of their “New Middle East” project and a new international order based on neo-liberal globalization.
In the absence of a strong reaction from the international community, Israel will continue its [????]disproportionate and un-discriminating attacks in violation of international humanitarian law, causing further human loss and destruction of civilian property and public infrastructure.
We, the undersigned Palestinian trade unions and labor organizations, call upon all trade unions, labor organizations and other civil society organizations to take urgent action by requesting their governments’ intervention to:
– end immediately all Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon
– stop war crimes against civilians in Palestine and Lebanon and open international investigations of these crimes
We are convinced that your immediate intervention will be an effective tool against war, discrimination and occupation, which are the other facet of brutal globalization, neo-liberalism and oppression.
Signatories:
The Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center in Palestine; the Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development; the Coalition of Independent and Democratic Trade Unions and Workers’ Committees; the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions ( PGFTU) – Gaza Strip; The Independent Labor Committees’ Union – Gaza Strip; General Union of Telecommunications and Information Technology Employees – Palestine; Jawwal Company Employees Trade Union – Palestine; Council of the Palestinian Federation of University Professors and Employees Trade Unions – Palestine; Federation of Higher Education Colleges Employees – Palestine; Emergency Medical Service Union – Palestine; Pharmaceutical Industry Workers’ Union – Palestine; General Union of Electricity Sector Workers in Palestine; Association of Financial Sector Employees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Palestinian Nursing Council; Local Authorities Workers’ Federation – West Bank; Union of Health Services Employees – West Bank; Union of Assistant Engineering Professions – West Bank; South Workers’ Council – Hebron; Unemployed Workers’ Committees – West Bank; Union of Kindergarten Employees – West Bank; Stone Workers’ Committees – West Bank; Federation of Medical Professions Trade Unions – West Bank; Municipalities Union – Gaza Strip; Agricultural Workers Union – Gaza Strip; General Union of Petrochemical Workers – Gaza Strip; Carpentry and Construction Workers Union – Gaza Strip; Public Services Union – Gaza Strip; General Union of Health Service Workers’ Union – Gaza Strip; Engineering, Mechanical and Electricity Industry Employees Union – Gaza Strip; Trade Union Work Front – Gaza Strip; Transportation Workers’ Union – Gaza Strip; General Union of Governmental Employees – Gaza Strip; Palestinian Red Crescent Society Hospital Workers’ Committee – Al-Bireh; Union of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society Workers – Hebron; The Sheikh Zaid Hospital Workers’ Committee – Ramallah; Abu Raya Hospital Workers’ Committee; Arab Rehabilitation Society Workers’ Committee – Beit Jala; Union of Textile and Garment Sector Workers – Bethlehem;
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Annex: Facts about the consequences of the Israel’s military attacks against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip
A month ago, Israel launched “Operation Summer Rains” against the Gaza Strip. Between 25 June and 26 July 2006, the Israeli occupying forces killed 157 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 33 children and 8 women, and wounded at least 700 Palestinian civilians, including 158 children and 21 women (source: Palestinian Center for Human Rights). Most of the victims were killed during Israeli shelling and gunfire directed against Palestinian cities, refugee camps and villages in the Gaza Strip. One of the Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center’s field coordinators and labor activist lost his brother and another lost his sister and her two children.
Moreover, in violation of article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prescribes that “it is prohibited for the occupying power to destroy private property of individuals, groups, state, public authority, or social and cooperative organizations except if military operations deem it an unavoidable necessity”, the Israeli occupying forces have bombed ministries and educational institutions, road and bridges, the Gaza power station which supplies 45% of the electricity needs of the population, workplaces, private homes and bulldozed hundreds of dunums of agricultural lands. For example, in Al-Maghazi, they destroyed a garment factory owned by Ahmed Hasan Abdel Jawwad, from which 70 families drew their income (Al-Mizan human rights organization – 23/07/2006). Since July 23, the Israeli occupying forces have started implementing a new policy: they are dropping leaflets in which they threaten to escalate their attacks and phoning individual families ordering them to evacuate their homes immediately because they intend to destroy them. According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, one of the families which were targeted is the “family of Salah Saleh El-Sha’er (48) from Qiezan El- Najjar area in Khan Younis. The house consisted of 3 stories and housed 40 people, including 28 children. It was bombed by a fighter jet, and was totally destroyed. Nearby houses suffered damages. In addition, several neighbors were injured”.
Other collective punishment measures against the Gaza Strip population include the closure of all border crossings between the Gaza Strip and the external world, forbidding all movement of people and goods. Electricity cuts are paralyzing factories and enterprises in many areas. Poverty, which had already reached 87% in the Gaza Strip in the 2nd quarter of 2006 (PCBS) as a result of the financial boycott of the Palestinian Authority, has further increased.
Posted by: DWRC (Profile) | @ Mon, 31 Jul 2006 17:11:15 +0200
