The Minister of Labor, Mamoun Abu Shahla said that the decisions and recommendations of the Palestinian workers must be transformed into a plan of action and that mechanisms should be put in place to force Israel through the International Labor Organization to apply the international law with regard to workers’ affairs.

The Minister of Labor chaired the delegation of Palestine in the work of the 44^th session of the Arab Labor Conference which ended its works yesterday, Wednesday, in Egypt under the Chairmanship of the state of Kuwait.

Abu Shahla added to the official agency that Palestine needs to have a united Arab Position to pressure the International Labor Organization to form a committee to escalate and transform the annual report by the Finding-Truth Commission about the conditions of the Palestinian workers in the occupied territories into a substance, and to be presented by a commission of the International Labor Organization Committees, so that it can compel Israel to comply with International Labor Laws.

The Minister of Labor stated that the Arab Officials affirmed their support and solidarity with the workers of Palestine, whose rights are violated by the Israeli occupation state in open disregard to the International decisions, adding that Kuwait’s Minister of Social Affairs, Labor and Economic Affairs Hind Al-Subeeh informed him during the meeting that there is conference was held in Kuwait in 2009, in which the Emir of Kuwait proposed the establishment of a fund to support Palestine, he allocated 2 billion dollars to this fund, while he provided the fund with half of a billion dollars of his own, while the Kuwaiti minister informed him that whenever she returns, She would immediately schedule a meeting to invite him to Kuwait to discuss this regard.

He continued: “The conference called for the formation of a delegation headed by the Director-General of the Arab Labor Organization and the Palestinian Minister of Labor to make a tour to the Arab countries to discuss ways to support our youth and our workers, stressing the necessary of the need to working mechanisms as this movement will be useful and important to provide what can be provided for Palestine.

Abu Shahla called the conference to transform the decisions and recommendations to a plan of action and establish mechanisms to compel Israel through the International Labor Organization to comply the international law about the Palestinian workers’ affairs, so that we always call for Palestinian governments help to create urgent job opportunities for the wage-earners group and the Palestinian youth, while there is more than 400 thousand young men and women under the cruelty of unemployment with its all kinds of economic, psychological, moral and national, and more than 320 thousand Palestinian families are living below the poverty line, on his words.

He noted that 47 years ago worked more than 4 million Palestinian workers within the Green Line, where they have accumulated financial rights during that period, and Israel has been pursuing a policy of lying and procrastination for the non-payment of these rights, there was a law in Israel issued in 1970 that treats the Palestinian worker as the Israeli worker in rights and duties.

Abu Shahala Said: These funds that amounting 10-12 billion dollars must be limited and converted into the Palestinian Social Security, adding that the number of Palestinian workers currently working inside Israel is 150,000 worker, explaining that the Israeli side gives the Palestinian Labor Ministry 50 thousand permits, and the remaining number comes to work through brokers who take part of the their wages and subject them to extortion and pay 2-3 thousand dollars during the permit period, and their entry is considered illegal, therefore they are considered as wage-earners not as legal workers by the International law and they became without rights.