WAC-MAAN – A decade of organising Palestinian workers in the West Bank settlements

15 June 2019, Workers Advice Centre (WAC-MAAN)

The independent trade union center WAC-MAAN releases a comprehensive 
report summarising ten years of struggle to organise Palestinian workers in 
Israeli settlementsin the occupied West Bank

The report released today by WAC-MAAN overviews ten years of trade union 
activities with Palestinian workers in Israeli settlements, particularly the Mishor 
Adumim area east of Jerusalem. The report was presented on 13 June 2019 
during the WAC-MAAN conference at Confederation House in Jerusalem. 
Among the participants were dozens of workers who led the groundbreaking 
unionizing drives at Zarfati Garage, NA Metal Industries and Laundry Geula, 
and a panel of speakers that included WAC-MAAN’s director Assaf Adiv who 
wrote the report, Advocate Khaled Douchi from Kav Laoved (Workers Hotline), 
Mr Abd Al Karim Saadi from B’Tselem, and researcher Ethan Morton Jerome.

Further>

https://auspalestine.org/2019/07/11/wac-maan-a-decade-of-organising-report/

Public Services unions from across Europe call on European governments to suspend arms trade with Israel

Delegates at the European Public Service Union (EPSU) congress in Dublin on 5 June discussed the current situation in Palestine and the role of trade unions in peace building.

The overwhelming majority of trade unions present voted in favor of a resolution calling for an independent Palestinian state that provides quality public service to its citizens. The resolution emphasises that the occupation has denied any prospects of a viable Palestinian economy and has contributed to one of the world’s highest unemployment rates. The EPSU resolution also highlights the damaging impact of recent actions by the Trump administration, including the decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

As a result of the resolution EPSU will explore with the ETUC (European Trade Union Confederation) how to effectively campaign for the implementation of human rights clauses in EU trade and association agreements. The resolution also calls on European governments to suspend arms trade with Israel and for the EU to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement because of repeated breach of its human rights provisions.

Finally the resolution notes the establishment of the European Trade Union Network for Justice in Palestine (ETUN) and calls on EPSU to inform its affiliates about the work of the network.

ETUN welcomes this resolution, which demonstrates the support of European public service unions to the rights of the Palestinian people, and commits EPSU to work on this crucial issue.

During the Congress, ETUN held a fringe meeting “Building Solidarity with Palestinian workers” at which our representatives from Ireland, Norway, UK and Belgium explained how the occupation of Palestine is undermining public services and decent work, and how European public service unions are working in solidarity with Palestinian unions and workers to improve the situation.

The meeting also discussed ETUN’s campaigns and our new report, that will be launched this autumn, which highlights the link between decent work and European complicity to the occupation.

ETUN will continue its work in support of Palestinian workers and trade unions, and focus on European and corporate complicity. We call on European trade unions to join us and help build a stronger network to campaign for an end to the occupation and for Palestinian workers’ rights.

http://www.etun-palestine.org/site/2019/07/03/public-services-unions-from-across-europe-call-on-european-governments-to-suspend-arms-trade-with-israel/

MENASource: Israel’s Problematic Role in Perpetuating Water Insecurity for Palestine, ZENA AGHA

Climate change poses an existential and global threat to humanity. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is expected to be impacted more than any other area. At the regional level, the predicted consequences of climate change are an accelerated rise in sea level, a significant increase in average temperatures, and changes in precipitation patterns. Some MENA states are better prepared than others to mitigate and adapt to these climate risks. States like Israel are well-equipped with technologies to deal with climate change, while the territories it occupies—namely Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights—are deprived of both their resources and the technologies necessary to protect them.

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Not only are the OPT directly threatened by climate change, but the Israeli occupation prevents the Territories from adapting to it.

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Further see
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/israel-s-problematic-role-in-perpetuating-water-insecurity-for-palestine