Author Archives: Yusra Odeh

Gaza

Amid the ongoing tight siege and continuous aggression on Gaza, and the escalating humanitarian crisis facing Palestinian families, the Democracy and Workers’ Rights Centre in Palestine (DWRC) has successfully delivered urgent support to displaced families and workers’ households in the Gaza Strip through its Emergency Support Project for Palestinian Workers and Their Families.

As part of this effort, the centre distributed 490 fresh vegetable packages to families across northern Gaza, Gaza City, the central governorates, and the south. Of these, 230 packages were delivered in northern Gaza and Gaza City, while 260 were distributed in the central and southern governorates. This initiative aims to meet the essential nutritional needs of affected families amid severe shortages and soaring prices of fresh vegetables, which have significantly impacted food security.

The food assistance seeks to alleviate malnutrition caused by the heavy reliance on canned and stored foods. The vegetable packages include a variety of basic fresh vegetables that help improve the health and nutrition of the beneficiary families.

This project is generously supported by the “Misereor” organization as part of the centre’s ongoing efforts to ease the suffering of the population and bolster the resilience of workers and their families during these challenging times. The Democracy and Workers’ Rights Centre remains committed to standing with the most vulnerable groups by providing necessary aid to confront the repercussions of the siege and conflict, contributing to restoring their dignity and stability.

The training opened with an introductory activity to introduce the training objectives, get to know the participants’ goals, and outline the expected outcomes. An initial assessment of participants’ knowledge was also conducted to help measure progress achieved through the training.

The first day focused on presenting the provisions of the Palestinian Labor Law applicable to workers, through group work discussing work conditions such as leave policies, wages, employment contracts, termination regulations, and identifying the official bodies to which workers can refer in case of violations of their rights.



The second day continued with brainstorming and discussions around the concept of occupational health and safety in the workplace. Participants identified occupational risks in various sectors, reviewed examples of workplace injuries and how they are addressed and learned about compensation mechanisms through practical exercises. Group work also addressed the decree-law on occupational health and safety supervisors, emphasizing the role and importance of forming occupational health and safety committees in workplaces and the role of trade unions across different sectors.

The third and final day introduced the concept of violence as defined in International Convention No. 190. Participants identified types of violence experienced in work environments, discussed relevant examples, reviewed the articles of ILO Convention 190, and explored the categories it covers. The session also linked occupational health and safety to issues of workplace violence and harassment, highlighting the importance of preventive measures. A selection of short educational videos on Convention 190 and workplace violence and harassment were presented to raise awareness among participants in their respective sectors.

This training is part of a series of workshops conducted by the center under the project “Contributing to Gender Justice and Human Rights for Women in the Middle East,” in partnership with the Peace and Solidarity Foundation of the CCOO Trade Union in Catalonia, with support from the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation.
The training was facilitated by the centre’s legal advisor, Ms. Samah Fraikhneh from the Legal Unit, and Ms. Amina Al-Omari from the Culture and Training Unit at the centre.

Fundació Pau i Solidaritat CCOO de Catalunya

Carine Metz, Program Coordinator at the Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center, stated that the meeting aimed to empower members of the “My Right” National Coalition by providing knowledge and direct exposure to governmental programs that serve target groups, and by building relationships with various ministries. She emphasized the need to leverage all adopted programs and policies to enhance and provide job opportunities for women and people with disabilities, especially in areas facing forced displacement.

Ameen Assi, Director of Planning and Studies at the Ministry of Planning, highlighted that the ministry is working to attract projects that consider the rights of marginalized groups and is coordinating with various institutions based on the needs of these groups. He also noted that the ministry is developing legislation for public-private partnerships, which will benefit disadvantaged communities. Assi added that the Ministry’s policies include aspects of relief and emergency response, psychosocial rehabilitation, support for mental health programs, small enterprise development, and a focus on vocational and technical training.

Rami Mahdawi, Assistant Undersecretary for Funding and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Labor, emphasized the importance of unified efforts and joint action among public, private, and civil society sectors. He called for the establishment of a unified database to support the design of programs and projects that serve the public—particularly women and people with disabilities. He noted that the Ministry of Labor monitors the implementation of the legal requirement for employing people with disabilities at a rate of no less than 5%. The ministry also provides zero-interest loans for women-led small enterprises through the Employment Fund and the Cooperative Work Agency.

Buthaina Salem, Deputy Minister of Women’s Affairs, explained that the ministry works from the perspective of women’s citizenship, not as a matter of aid. She emphasized the ministry’s collaboration with local and international institutions to develop laws and policies that ensure justice, prevention, and protection for women. She affirmed that the economic empowerment of women and girls is a priority that requires budget allocation and the integration of women, particularly those with disabilities, into the labor market. The ministry is also reviewing social policies, encouraging labor market participation, and fostering a decent work environment for women.

Abbas Diab, Director of the Rehabilitation Department at the Ministry of Social Development, outlined the ministry’s efforts to provide care and protection for vulnerable and marginalized groups, particularly people with disabilities. These efforts include: the President’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities; the drafting of modern legislation aligned with the Convention; the adoption of a comprehensive health system by the Council of Ministers; the national referral system for protecting women, including women with disabilities; customs exemptions for vehicles used by people with mobility impairments; the development of an emergency response plan for people with disabilities; and the provision of economic empowerment projects, grants for small enterprise development, and professional development programs.

Mousa Salameh, representative of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said that following amendments to the Chambers’ Law, small and micro-enterprises, including those run by people with disabilities, can now be registered. He noted improvements in training services aimed at empowering women and enhancing their capacities to launch and grow small businesses. The chambers have also shifted toward vocational and technical training in line with labor market needs and launched the “Monshati” platform, which offers advisory services and online training—facilitating women’s access to services and financing opportunities for small enterprises.

Majd Shtaywi, representative of the Palestinian Employment Fund, stated that the fund operates three main programs: temporary and wage-based employment, support for small businesses and entrepreneurial ideas, and emergency interventions. She emphasized that these projects primarily target women and people with disabilities and include interest-free loans tailored to their needs.

Qalqilya – 24/05/2025

The Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center (DWRC) organized awareness sessions in the city of Qalqilya, emphasizing the importance of the Center’s independence and democratic approach in its operations and decision-making processes—free from external interference. The sessions also highlighted the Center’s vital role in defending workers’ rights, advocating for their protection, and serving as a mediator between workers and employers or responsible authorities.

In coordination with the Qalqilya Sports Club, the second session was held under the title “Combating Violence and Discrimination in the Workplace,” with the participation of 27 youth activists and workers from various sectors, as well as members of the Club’s administrative board.

The session addressed the definition and types of violence, their impact on male and female workers across different workplaces and sectors, and the importance of creating a safe and respectful work environment to ensure proper workflow. It also stressed the need for workplaces to adopt strict policies to combat such practices and to ensure a safe and secure environment for all.

These sessions are part of a series of activities implemented by the Center to raise awareness among workers in all sectors. The sessions were supervised and facilitated by Omar Al-Taqaz and Amina Al-Omari from the Culture and Training Unit.

Gaza – On 8/08/2024, the Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center held a workshop at PNGO office in central Gaza to discuss a field study on “Gender-Based Violence in the World of Work, and the Effects of Israel’s War on Women’s Exposure to Violence & Harassment in the Gaza Strip since October 2023″ conducted by researcher Louay Joudeh for DWRC. The workshop was attended by 35 participants in presence and online. The field study was conducted with two different samples to capture the situation in workplaces in the Gaza Strip before the start of the war, and the various forms of violence to which women have been exposed since October 7, 2023. The first sample included 203 women in employment before the war in the public sector, the private and non-governmental organizations’ sector, UNRWA, women business owners, self-employed women, and those working in family businesses without financial compensation. The second sample included 200 women, who had been in employment before the war or without employment. Both samples included women with disabilities. The researcher also conducted interviews and focus group meetings to complement the quantitative data.

The study findings indicated that 56.2% of the sample of women in employment before the war experienced violence from a work supervisor or a colleague or another person in the framework of their work before the war. The most common forms of violence women were exposed to were verbal violence (47.4%), followed by economic violence (30.7%) and electronic violence (17.5%), while 4.4% indicated that they were subjected to physical violence. More than half of working women in this sample (64%) said that there are deterrent policies against perpetrators of violence and harassment in the workplace, and 60.8% of them that they are implemented with well-studied and deterrent mechanisms. 30.5% of surveyed working women do not have psychological, physical, material and electronic well-being, organized offices, separate bathrooms and privacy in the workplace. 62.5% of workers surveyed lost their jobs due to the war and its effects, and 81.5% said they have not received any cash assistance and have not participated in livelihood programs during the war. 83.8% of the women workers in the sample used to earn less than the Palestinian minimum wage of 1880 shekels per month.

93% of the women in the second study sample have been displaced. The vast majority have obtained no services: 80.5% said they received no health services or women hygiene products (none said they do not need them), 91% that they obtained no psychological support services, and 83.5% that they received no legal services. 78% declared there are no safe spaces for women where they have been displaced. 64% of the women surveyed have been exposed to violence in shelters, workplaces, and when receiving aid and other services since the start of the war on Gaza. Half of them experienced verbal violence, 35.8% economic violence, 8.8% physical violence and harassment, and 5.4% electronic violence. Most of them have been subjected to this violence continuously (70.3%). 62% said there were no mechanisms to submit complaints against perpetrators of violence, and 26% said they did not know if there were any such mechanisms. Only 11.7% have submitted complaints against perpetrators of violence and/or harassment, and less than half were satisfied with the outcome (40%). 85.5% of women feel uncomfortable (psychologically, physically, and financially) and face the lack of a sufficient number of separate bathrooms and privacy, where they have been displaced. 93.5% said there is an insufficient number of bathrooms and 72% that there were no specific bathrooms for women.

Findings also indicated that 75.5% of the women surveyed in the second study sample have been exposed to violence by the Israeli occupying power since the war has started. Women were exposed to multiple forms of violence; 95.3% had their homes destroyed, 62.3% lost children and relatives, 62.3% lost their jobs, 49.7% were subjected to ill-treatment by the Israeli occupation, 35.9% were injured, 14.6% were exposed to other forms of violence (psychological violence due to communications from the Israeli occupation, physical violence, deprivation from medical care and food), and 13.2% were detained.

A first set of recommendations concerns steps needed to improve women’s situation in the world of work and address violence and harassment. Such steps include activating workplace policies and holding perpetrators of violence accountable, having effective complaints mechanisms, and ensuring the implementation of the minimum wage in the Gaza Strip. All women, who have lost their jobs or means of earning an income due to the war, should be financially compensated for the loss of their source of livelihood to ensure their right to live in dignity. A second set of recommendations concerns steps for protecting women from heightened levels of violence since the war started; these include intensifying efforts to ensure that women have access to basic services and amenities, developing protection mechanisms and encouraging women to lodge complaints. The study also mentioned the importance of filing complaints at the international level against the Israeli occupying power, which has perpetrated multiple forms of violence against Palestinian women, and seeking compensation for the victims.

This study is part of the project for “Contributing to Gender Justice and Women’s Human Rights in the Middle East” implemented in partnership with Fundació Pau i Solidaritat – CCOO Catalunya and funded by the Government of Catalonia and the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation.

The Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center and the National Coalition for Advocating for Women’s Right to Decent Work “Min Haqqi” discuss the challenging situation of working women in the Jericho and Jordan Valley Governorate and perspectives for protection

Jericho: After the war started, women’s economic sufferings have doubled, unemployment rates among them increased, and many of their projects were shut down, leading to difficult economic conditions for them and their families. Therefore, the Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center held a meeting on Tuesday May 13th in the Jericho and Jordan Valley governorate, with the participation of the Governor of Jericho and the Jordan Valley, Dr. Hussein Hamaileh, women workers, and representatives from the Ministry of Labor, the Employment Fund, and civil society institutions.

The meeting discussed the situation of working women in times of crises under the title: “Challenges and Perspectives for Protection,” in partnership with the National Coalition “Min Haqqi” (“My Right”) as part of the “Partners for Equity, Partners for Change” project, supported by the European Union.

The meeting resulted in several recommendations, most notably the establishment of a vocational training center for women in the governorate, supporting small women-led projects, providing job opportunities for women in the private sector, facilitating their access to funding for their small businesses, publishing employment, training, and funding announcements on social media platforms to reach the largest number of women, in addition to organizing informational meetings with women’s associations, and the need to hold meetings with factory and business owners to urge them to employ women in their workplaces.

Carine Metz, Programs Coordinator at the Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center, said during the meeting that the Center works on advocacy and networking to unify efforts in support of women’s economic rights, and that this meeting aims to promote decent job opportunities and income for women and persons with disabilities, and to enhance the local economy to benefit Palestinian families.

For his part, the Governor of Jericho and the Jordan Valley, Dr. Hussein Hamaileh, expressed his commitment to follow up on all the issues raised by women, help them obtain small projects, and raise their recommendations to the Council of Ministers to act upon them. Regarding the employment of women in settlements, Hamaileh stated that work in settlements is legally rejected as the settlements are illegal, but the needs of the citizens are great and the situation is difficult, with a financial blockade imposed on the Palestinian people. Therefore, efforts are being made to provide citizens’ basic needs.

Muyasser Waqad, Executive Director of the Ain Sultan Camp Women’s Association, stated that the “Min Haqqi” Coalition aims to promote equality in economic and social rights for women, especially women with disabilities, as women do not receive their full labor rights and are not paid high wages. She pointed out that many women were dismissed from work after the war started, their projects were closed, and they lost their labor rights. She added: “We have many needs, and if even some of them were met, the economic reality for women would be better.”

Mohammed Qabaha, Director of the Labor Directorate in the Jericho and Jordan Valley Governorate, explained that the Ministry has several projects to support and economically empower women, including the “Bader” project, which targets women working in Israel or in Israeli settlements, who were affected after the war started. The project offers zero-interest loans for small businesses, in addition to other projects aimed at enhancing women’s vocational skills. He pointed out that the Labor Directorate has inspectors, who monitor the implementation of the labor law in workplaces, and legal action has been taken against some employers through warnings, notices, or closure of their establishments.

He noted that women working in settlements are exposed to injustice and exploitation by brokers, particularly due to long working hours that exceed 10 hours per day.

Ihab Zaghl, representative of the Employment Fund, said that the Fund publishes announcements about employment and financing projects on social media to reach more women, and also assists women in registration and data entry when applying for projects. The Fund also provides vocational training programs for women.

Adly Hanayseh, Project Coordinator at the Ma’an Development Center, emphasized the need to launch investment projects to employ women in the Jericho and Jordan Valley region. He pointed out that the “Ma’an” Center implements projects related to women’s economic empowerment and recently provided 25 grants for women-led projects worth $10,000 each, in addition to supporting three agricultural projects for women, who had been previously working in Israeli settlements.

On the International Day for Occupational Safety and Health 2025, DWRC calls on the international trade union movement to step up their actions and mobilization to ensure protection for Palestinian and international workers in the occupied Palestinian territories, and hold Israel accountable for its grave violations of international law

Ramallah – 28 April 2025: For the second year in a row, we commemorate the International Day for Occupational Safety and Health while Palestinian and international workers in occupied Palestine are exposed to unprecedented threats to their safety and their lives, many of them specifically targeted because of their professions. As Israel has resumed its war on Gaza after a brief pause earlier this year, and amidst levels of destruction and damages that reach nearly 90% of built areas, workplaces & infrastructure, coupled with the renewed use of starvation as a weapon of war against Gaza’s population, Israeli violence continues to be the highest cause of Palestinian workers’ death and injury. While workers in the Gaza Strip, and those engaged in journalistic and humanitarian work, are constantly targeted, the brutal Israeli repression and military operations against Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and the nearly 900 barriers to movement expose most Palestinian work commuters to daily harassment, violence and loss of working hours. Workers are also subjected to increasing attacks by the Israeli army and Israeli settlers at work, whether in ambulances, hospitals, schools, shops, or agricultural lands.

As the International Labor Organization focuses this year on how AI & digitalization are transforming occupational safety and health and can reduce workers’ exposure to risks at work, and the ITUC warns of the added pressure and risks that the growing use of AI, surveillance and automation generate for workers, the use of AI & digital technologies as tools of oppression, warfare and mass murder are foremost on our minds as Palestinians. Indeed, AI & digital technologies have been developed and used extensively by the Israeli occupying power and its military as tools for mass surveillance and repression of Palestinians. Even more alarming, AI based programs and automated systems (such as “Lavender” & “Where’s Daddy?”) have been used for selecting targets of bombings and missile strikes, leading to the mass killings of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, with automation allowing rapid multiplication of targets based on data aggregation regardless of accuracy or any moral and legal considerations. At the same time, tech workers, who mobilized to denounce the involvement of Big Tech companies and their technologies in the perpetration of human rights abuses in occupied Palestine have been ignored, silenced or dismissed.

While other risks at work continue to claim victims among Palestinian workers, including construction sector accidents, the single greatest cause of deaths and injury to Palestinian workers are not workplace accidents or work-related accidents as they may also occur in other countries worldwide. The single greatest cause of deaths and injury to Palestinian workers are Israeli warfare and violence by Israeli soldiers and Israeli settlers directed against the Palestinian civilian population. Last year, we reported alarmingly high numbers of Palestinian workers in various sectors killed on and off duty, among them journalists and media workers, health workers, civil defense workers, United Nations staff members, and humanitarian aid workers in general. These numbers have more than doubled, as has the body of evidence of continued deliberate targeting by Israel of workers engaged in lifesaving humanitarian work, namely healthcare and relief workers, as well as those whose jobs it is to report about what is happening to the world, namely journalists and media workers. To date, the Gaza governmental media office has reported that more than 1400 physicians and healthcare workers have been killed, as well as 113 civil defense workers. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has reported that than 200 journalists and media workers have been killed. UN OCHA indicated that at least 412 aid workers have been killed in Gaza, including 291 UN staff. Dozens of healthcare workers, civil defense workers, media workers and UN staff have been killed while on duty and/or inside clearly marked premises or vehicles that should not have been targeted by reason of their civilian and humanitarian purposes and missions.

Continued absence of accountability for extremely grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law puts not only Palestinian workers at greater risk, but may affect the safety and well-being of all workers operating worldwide in conflict zones. The recent Israeli “probe” into the incident of the deliberate targeting and killing by the Israeli army of 15 Palestinian aid workers in Rafah (8 PRCS medics, 6 civil defense workers and one UN staff member), conducted once it became impossible for Israel to continue denying the facts, only concluded that there was “a chain of “professional failures” and fired a deputy commander, utterly failing to adequately characterize the crimes committed and hold perpetrators accountable.

Therefore, we call upon the international trade union movement to step up their actions and mobilization to ensure protection for Palestinian and international workers in the occupied Palestinian territories, and demand that governments take concrete steps and measures to hold Israel accountable for its crimes under international law.

We also reiterate our call to the international community to take immediate measures to impose a ceasefire in Gaza and provide international protection to the Palestinian people in the entire occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem. The international community should ensure that the rules of international humanitarian law are applied by enforcing sanctions for systematic and grave violations, including those that are committed against media and humanitarian workers, and ending Israel’s impunity that has made such widespread violations possible.

On this day, also called Workers’ Remembrance Day, we ask you to join us in remembering all Palestinian and international workers deliberately targeted because of their profession and duties. We shall continue demanding justice, compensations and reparations for them and their families. May they rest in power.

Let us remember them by their names and their work (this list is not exhaustive): *Palestinian physicians, who died while detained by Israel: Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh, Dr. Iyad al-Rantisi, and Dr. Ziad Eldalou *PRCS medics killed while attempting to rescue 6 year old Hind Rajab and despite coordination for safe passage with the Israeli army on 29/01/2024: Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun *PRCS medics assassinated in Rafah during a rescue mission to civilians on 23/03/2025: Mustafa Khafaja, Ezzedine Shaat, Saleh Muammar, Rifaat Radwan, Mohammed Bahloul, Ashraf Abu Labda, Mohammed Hilieh, and Raed Al-Sharif. *Palestinian & Lebanese journalists assassinated by Israel while performing their professional duties: Shireen Abu Akleh (11/05/2022), Issam Abdallah, Hamza Al Dahdouh, Mustafa Thuraya, Ismail Al Ghoul, Rami Al Refee, Ghassan Najjar, Wissam Kassem, Mohammed Reda, Ayman Al Gedi, Faisal Abu Al Qumsan, Mohammed Al-Ladaa, Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim Sheikh Ali, Mahmoud Islim Al-Basos, Hossam Shabat, Hilmi al-Faqaawi, and Ahmed Mansour (CPJ). *World Central Kitchen workers assassinated during the deliberate targeting of their convoy on 1/04/2024: Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, Laizawmi “Zomi” Frankcom, Damian Soból, Jacob Flinkinger, John Chapman, James “Jim” Henderson and James Kirby *UNOPS employee, killed when a UN compound in Deir al-Balah was damaged on 19/03/2025: Marin Valev Marinov

On the International Day for Occupational Safety and Health 2025, DWRC calls on the international trade union movement to step up their actions and mobilization to ensure protection for Palestinian and international workers in the occupied Palestinian territories, and hold Israel accountable for its grave violations of international law

Ramallah – 28 April 2025: For the second year in a row, we commemorate the International Day for Occupational Safety and Health while Palestinian and international workers in occupied Palestine are exposed to unprecedented threats to their safety and their lives, many of them specifically targeted because of their professions. As Israel has resumed its war on Gaza after a brief pause earlier this year, and amidst levels of destruction and damages that reach nearly 90% of built areas, workplaces & infrastructure, coupled with the renewed use of starvation as a weapon of war against Gaza’s population, Israeli violence continues to be the highest cause of Palestinian workers’ death and injury. While workers in the Gaza Strip, and those engaged in journalistic and humanitarian work, are constantly targeted, the brutal Israeli repression and military operations against Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and the nearly 900 barriers to movement expose most Palestinian work commuters to daily harassment, violence and loss of working hours. Workers are also subjected to increasing attacks by the Israeli army and Israeli settlers at work, whether in ambulances, hospitals, schools, shops, or agricultural lands.

As the International Labor Organization focuses this year on how AI & digitalization are transforming occupational safety and health and can reduce workers’ exposure to risks at work, and the ITUC warns of the added pressure and risks that the growing use of AI, surveillance and automation generate for workers, the use of AI & digital technologies as tools of oppression, warfare and mass murder are foremost on our minds as Palestinians. Indeed, AI & digital technologies have been developed and used extensively by the Israeli occupying power and its military as tools for mass surveillance and repression of Palestinians. Even more alarming, AI based programs and automated systems (such as “Lavender” & “Where’s Daddy?”) have been used for selecting targets of bombings and missile strikes, leading to the mass killings of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, with automation allowing rapid multiplication of targets based on data aggregation regardless of accuracy or any moral and legal considerations. At the same time, tech workers, who mobilized to denounce the involvement of Big Tech companies and their technologies in the perpetration of human rights abuses in occupied Palestine have been ignored, silenced or dismissed.

While other risks at work continue to claim victims among Palestinian workers, including construction sector accidents, the single greatest cause of deaths and injury to Palestinian workers are not workplace accidents or work-related accidents as they may also occur in other countries worldwide. The single greatest cause of deaths and injury to Palestinian workers are Israeli warfare and violence by Israeli soldiers and Israeli settlers directed against the Palestinian civilian population. Last year, we reported alarmingly high numbers of Palestinian workers in various sectors killed on and off duty, among them journalists and media workers, health workers, civil defense workers, United Nations staff members, and humanitarian aid workers in general. These numbers have more than doubled, as has the body of evidence of continued deliberate targeting by Israel of workers engaged in lifesaving humanitarian work, namely healthcare and relief workers, as well as those whose jobs it is to report about what is happening to the world, namely journalists and media workers. To date, the Gaza governmental media office has reported that more than 1400 physicians and healthcare workers have been killed, as well as 113 civil defense workers. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has reported that than 200 journalists and media workers have been killed. UN OCHA indicated that at least 412 aid workers have been killed in Gaza, including 291 UN staff. Dozens of healthcare workers, civil defense workers, media workers and UN staff have been killed while on duty and/or inside clearly marked premises or vehicles that should not have been targeted by reason of their civilian and humanitarian purposes and missions.

Continued absence of accountability for extremely grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law puts not only Palestinian workers at greater risk but may affect the safety and well-being of all workers operating worldwide in conflict zones. The recent Israeli “probe” into the incident of the deliberate targeting and killing by the Israeli army of 15 Palestinian aid workers in Rafah (8 PRCS medics, 6 civil defense workers and one UN staff member), conducted once it became impossible for Israel to continue denying the facts, only concluded that there was “a chain of “professional failures” and fired a deputy commander, utterly failing to adequately characterize the crimes committed and hold perpetrators accountable.

Therefore, we call upon the international trade union movement to step up their actions and mobilization to ensure protection for Palestinian and international workers in the occupied Palestinian territories, and demand that governments take concrete steps and measures to hold Israel accountable for its crimes under international law.

We also reiterate our call to the international community to take immediate measures to impose a ceasefire in Gaza and provide international protection to the Palestinian people in the entire occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem. The international community should ensure that the rules of international humanitarian law are applied by enforcing sanctions for systematic and grave violations, including those that are committed against media and humanitarian workers, and ending Israel’s impunity that has made such widespread violations possible.

On this day, also called Workers’ Remembrance Day, we ask you to join us in remembering all Palestinian and international workers deliberately targeted because of their profession and duties. We shall continue demanding justice, compensations and reparations for them and their families. May they rest in power.

Let us remember them by their names and their work (this list is not exhaustive): *Palestinian physicians, who died while detained by Israel: Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh, Dr. Iyad al-Rantisi, and Dr. Ziad Eldalou *PRCS medics killed while attempting to rescue 6 year old Hind Rajab and despite coordination for safe passage with the Israeli army on 29/01/2024: Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun *PRCS medics assassinated in Rafah during a rescue mission to civilians on 23/03/2025: Mustafa Khafaja, Ezzedine Shaat, Saleh Muammar, Rifaat Radwan, Mohammed Bahloul, Ashraf Abu Labda, Mohammed Hilieh, and Raed Al-Sharif. *Palestinian & Lebanese journalists assassinated by Israel while performing their professional duties: Shireen Abu Akleh (11/05/2022), Issam Abdallah, Hamza Al Dahdouh, Mustafa Thuraya, Ismail Al Ghoul, Rami Al Refee, Ghassan Najjar, Wissam Kassem, Mohammed Reda, Ayman Al Gedi, Faisal Abu Al Qumsan, Mohammed Al-Ladaa, Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim Sheikh Ali, Mahmoud Islim Al-Basos, Hossam Shabat, Hilmi al-Faqaawi, and Ahmed Mansour (CPJ). *World Central Kitchen workers assassinated during the deliberate targeting of their convoy on 1/04/2024: Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, Laizawmi “Zomi” Frankcom, Damian Soból, Jacob Flinkinger, John Chapman, James “Jim” Henderson and James Kirby *UNOPS employee, killed when a UN compound in Deir al-Balah was damaged on 19/03/2025: Marin Valev Marinov

Ramallah – 08/05/2025

The Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center (DWRC) concluded a training workshop titled “Trade Union Organizing Skills” with the participation of 17 trade unionists representing the Union of Tailoring, Weaving and Textile Workers in Salfit and Tulkarem, the Union of Kindergarten Workers in Abu Dis and Jericho, the Postal Services Workers Union in Hebron, the Secretariat Workers Union in Tulkarem, the Health Services Workers Union (branches in Qalqilya and Hebron), the Municipality Employees Union in Qalqilya, the Administrative Services Workers Union in Ramallah, the Palestinian Electricians Union in Yatta, the South Electricity Company Workers Union, Qalqilya Sports Club, and the Municipality Workers Union of Nuba in Hebron.

The training opened with introductions among participants, an overview of the Center and the workshop, and a discussion of the objectives of the training, the importance of the participants’ engagement, and the expected outcomes that unions should work toward as a result of this session.

The training concluded with a set of recommendations, including the continued dissemination of union-related information through training workshops, awareness sessions, and meetings organized by DWRC. It was also recommended to diversify participants to ensure the sustainability and expansion of outreach efforts, and to distribute awareness brochures and posters via social media, which has become the most widely used platform by individuals. Finally, it was recommended to follow up with unions on their efforts to improve working conditions based on the knowledge gained during the training.

This training was facilitated by Omar Al-Taooz and Amneh Al-Omari from the Culture and Training Unit, with the participation of DWRC Project Manager Karin Metz and representatives from the Olof Palme International Center, which supported the implementation of this training workshop. The session was part of a broader series of activities organized by DWRC to promote the right to freedom of association and union organizing.