PALESTIJNSE ARBEIDERS IN NEDERZETTINGEN

PALESTINIAN WORKERS IN SETTLEMENTS - WHO PROFITS JAN 2013
 
Israeli and international companies that face criticism owing to their activities in the occupied West Bank often attempt to legitimize their businesses in settlements by claiming that they provide labor to Palestinian workers. These claims are blatant attempts to distract public attention from the Israeli occupation. Who Profits uncovers facts that undermine these claims.

In order to work in settlements, Palestinians must obtain work permits from the Israeli Civil Administration, which also entails the approval of the Israeli internal security service (the Shin Bet). This permit can be annulled at any time, especially when workers demand their rights or try to unionize, or if they (or one of their family members) engage in any kind of political activity. This situation exposes Palestinian workers to extortion by the Israeli internal security service. Other gross violations of labor rights in the West Bank are also possible because the Israeli labor regulations, which apply to these businesses, are rarely enforced in the Occupied Territories, and the workers cannot demand these rights for fear of losing their permits. Furthermore, Israeli employers frequently hire workers through Palestinian labor contractors, which render the workers more vulnerable to rights violations.

A business that operates illegitimately cannot demand legitimacy on behalf of the workers and at their expense. The case of sweatshops is a useful example for illegitimate corporate activity that cannot be justified by providing work for those in need. As is the case with settlement companies, sweatshop operators manufacture their products in low-wage societies, seeking lower production costs.

Israeli employers of Palestinians in settlements have a clear economic interest in maintaining the occupation of Palestinian land and the exploitation of resources. Companies establish factories in the occupied West Bank mainly in order to enjoy the economic benefits provided by the Israeli government, as well as to have access to cheap Palestinian labor and the indirect benefits of operating in industrial zones with low safety and environmental standards and with very lax monitoring and enforcement.

According to a study conducted by Dr. Majid Sbeih from Al-Quds University for the Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center in Palestine, 82% of Palestinian workers have the desire and willingness to leave their jobs in the settlements, provided that a suitable alternative is available. However, suitable alternatives will not be found as long as the Palestinian economy is under occupation.

Settlement companies are responsible for their conduct and should be held accountable. These employers cannot claim to represent the interests and the position of Palestinian workers in any way. In fact, all of the Palestinian trade unions and labor unions and almost all Palestinian civil society organizations, including political parties, support the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) as articulated by the BDS National Committee (BNC).

The political reality of the occupation does not allow Palestinian workers to make a free and informed choice regarding their livelihoods. Most Palestinians are compelled to work in settlements, since their economy is in ruins after 45 years of Israeli military occupation.

The document that manifested the structural tourniquets imposed on the Palestinian economy is the Paris Protocol – the economic annex to the Oslo Accords. The Paris Protocol places Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories under a joint taxation envelope, the same currency (New Israeli Shekel), and imposes severe restrictions on manufacturing, exporting and importing goods to and from the Occupied Territories. This trade agreement does not truly promote free trade, but instead seeks to protect Israeli and multinational corporations from competition by local industries. Moreover, this situation blocks the development of an independent Palestinian economy and keeps it as a captive market for Israeli and international companies.

Palestinian workers lost their land and livelihood to the Israeli occupation. 11% of Palestinian workers in settlements work on confiscated lands originally owned by their families or one of their relatives. Providing Palestinians with jobs on their own stolen land is another humiliating insult that they are forced to bear in order to provide for their families. The settlement industry's revenues are a direct result of shameless exploitation of Palestinian land, labor and resources. The industry's existence on occupied land enables, deepens and perpetuates the Israeli occupation.

Bron: Palestinian workers in settlements

Palestijnse boeren en arbeiders, door Israel aangevallen

Over Palestijnse boeren en arbeiders die door het Israelische leger zijn aangevallen binnen de Gazastrook, na 'de wapenstilstand' van 21 november 2012: zie Farming Under Fire - List of Palestinians shot.




Since November 22, 2012, 4 Palestinians have been killed and 76 Palestinians, including 14 children have been wounded by IOF fire in Gaza Strip. One of the wounded is fisherman shot in the sea, while the others are protesters, workers and farmers shot in the areas close to the fence of the Green Line.

The data are from PCHR weekly reports, unless otherwise mentioned. In almost all the cases, the victims are mentioned expressly as civilians.

This is not a complete list of Israeli violations of the ceasefire, as it contains only the incidents which resulted in injuries or deaths. ......

Neoliberalisme in bezet Palestijnse gebied, via de PA

Uit Leaked documents show PA outsourced Palestinian land and rights to Turkish firm,
Charlotte Silver 19-9-2012

... The concession agreement between Turkish foreign developers and the PA’s Palestinian Industrial Estate and Free Zone Authority, leaked exclusively to The Electronic Intifada, reveals that the industrial zone in Jenin will come under the full control of the foreign power funding the project. If the plan goes forward, this agreement may well set a dangerous precedent for predatory industrialists and multinational companies in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. ...

... In the West Bank courtroom, where the PA stands with a Turkish development company and against a family of farmers, it becomes compellingly clear that the PA’s allegiance to a neoliberal ideology is betraying Palestinians. ...

G4S genomineerd voor de Public Eye Award

G4S is genomineerd voor de Public Eye Award, een prijs voor het slechtste bedrijf. (*)
Het publiek bepaalt wie de prijs wint. G4S is mede genomineerd vanwege haar rol bij de Israëlische bezettings- en kolonisatiepolitiek.
Stem en roep anderen op om te stemmen! Tot 23 januari!!

Zie http://www.publiceye.ch/en/vote/g4s/ (**) en http://www.publiceye.ch/en/vote/

(*)
http://www.publiceye.ch/en/news/online-polls-public-eye-peoples-awards-2013-now-open/
Online voting for the worst offender of the year runs from today until midday January 23, 2013. This year’s shortlist features the seven most egregious cases of corporate crime selected by our newly conceived jury of internationally known business ethicists from 20 expert reports about potentially deserving candidates. The reports were compiled by the Institute for Business Ethics at the University of St. Gall. More than 50 NGOs from all over the globe nominated companies.

(**)

Largest Private Army in the World: the ranks of the British security service company G4S include more than 650.000 employees.
These security forces are often badly trained and paid and many of its members have a criminal record. The company operates in 125 countries and is the world’s second largest private employer in the world and is involved in countless cases of violations of international law and human rights abuses. G4S is present in the occupied Palestinian territories—manning checkpoints and managing prison security for Israel and is thus complicit in Israel’s illegal settlement policy and the torture of Palestinians in Israeli prisons. G4S is also on record for several deaths that occurred during forcible deportations by G4S personnel.
The company is also active in other regions of conflict, often serving repressive regimes such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Bahrain or Saudi-Arabia.
Meer op http://www.publiceye.ch/en/vote/g4s/

Kamervragen vanwege vissers en boeren in Gaza

VISSERS EN BOEREN GAZA DE DUPE

Met het overeenkomen van een bestand kwam op 21 november 2012 een einde aan de geweldsescalatie tussen Gaza en Israël. De strijdende partijen spraken toen af dat er geen raketten meer op Israël afgeschoten zouden worden en dat Israël alle vijandigheden tegen de inwoners van Gaza zou staken. Inmiddels is duidelijk dat deze afspraken niet worden nagekomen. Vooral de Israëlische aanvallen op Palestijnen aan de grens en vissers op zee zijn zorgwekkend. Omdat het belangrijk is dat het geweld niet opnieuw escaleert, heb ik de minister de volgende vragen gesteld:

1. Kent u de berichten ‘Ceasefire Means ‘Nothing’ to Gaza Fishers’ en ‘Israeli Soldiers Fail to Cease Firing’? 1)

2. Kunt u bevestigen dat onderdeel van de bestandsafspraken tussen Israël en gewapende groepen in Gaza, die volgden op de escalatie van het geweld in november 2012, is dat ‘Israel should stop all hostilities in the Gaza Strip land, sea and air including incursions and targeting of individuals’? 2) Deelt u mijn opvatting dat de voorbeelden in beide bij vraag 1 genoemde artikelen aantonen dat Israël deze afspraak schendt? Indien neen, waarom niet? Kunt u uw antwoord toelichten?

3. Kunt u een overzicht geven van de schendingen van het bestand door Israël en van de schendingen van het bestand door gewapende groepen in Gaza sinds deze op 21 november 2012 van kracht werd?

4. Deelt u mijn opvatting dat het opleggen van een beperking van drie of zes mijl voor Palestijnse vissers in Gaza in strijd is met het internationale recht? En kunt u bevestigen dat deze beperking in strijd is met de afspraken zoals vastgelegd in de Oslo akkoorden? Indien neen, waarom niet? Kunt u uw antwoord toelichten?

5. Deelt u verder mijn opvatting dat het opleggen van een bufferzone aan de Palestijnse kant van de grens met Israël, waardoor Palestijnse boeren niet bij hun land kunnen, eveneens in strijd is met het internationaal recht? Indien neen, waarom niet? Kunt u uw antwoord toelichten?

6. Bent u bereid er bij Israël op aan te dringen dat het internationaal recht wordt gerespecteerd en dat de bufferzone aan de grens en de beperkingen voor Palestijnse vissers geheel worden opgeheven? Indien neen, waarom niet? Kunt u uw antwoord toelichten?

Bronnen:
1. Ceasefire Means ‘Nothing’ to Gaza Fishers,

http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/12/ceasefire-means-nothing-to-gaza-fishers/, 17 december 2012 en Israeli Soldiers Fail to Cease Firing, http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/12/israeli-soldiers-fail-to-cease-firing/, 4 december 2012.
2. Full text: Terms of Israel-Palestinian cease-fire, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/11/21/full-text-terms-of-israel-palestinian-cease-fire/, 21 november 2012.

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P.S.
Naar verwachting vindt in februari een Kamerdebat over Palestina/Israel plaats, onder andere over een Kamerbrief van minister Timmermans, zie Kamerbrief over MO-vredesproces
Deze brief en andere Kamerstukken zijn hier te vinden: website rijksoverheid

 

Hoe Israel-supporters een boycotdebat in vakbonden pogen te stoppen

Een artikel over pogingen in het VK (Verenigd Koninkrijk):

How Israel's supporters are attempting to shut down boycott debate in UK Unions, 27-12-2012