The Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) called on the workers in the Gaza Strip to pressure the Zionist occupation to lift the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip for more than 13 years.
During a labour protest organized by trade unions on the occasion of the May Day, the union asserted that the Israeli siege resulted in the decrease of the Gaza Strip’s living standards, as if it is “the largest prison in the world."
The protest was attended by the heads of trade unions and a group of unemployed workers. They raised banners calling for the lifting of the siege on Gaza, the opening of the Gaza crossings, the employment of workers and the meeting of their demands.
In a statement to the media, the head of the Workers' Union, Sami Al-Amassi, said that the number of unemployed workers reached about 295 thousand workers in the Gaza Strip, while he unemployment rate rose to more than 52% and the poverty rate reached 80%.
He called on everyone to hold responsible of what is happening in the Gaza Strip, end the division and lift the sanctions imposed by the Palestinian Authority, since April 2017.
He also called on the competent authorities to implement the minimum wage law within the Gaza Strip, stressing the need to prevent the exploitation of the Israeli blockade as an "excuse to violate the rights of workers." He called on the UN workers, the Security Council, the human rights organizations and the League of Arab States to work hard to lift the unjust siege on the Gaza Strip.
The official sources in the Gaza Strip revealed the outcome of the latest Zionist aggression, which represented the largest and most dangerous and longest round of escalation between the occupation and the resistance factions, since the start of the march of return on 30 March 2018.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the number of martyrs due to the escalation of the occupation in Gaza reached 31 martyrs, including four women, two girls, two foetus and a child, in addition to the injury of 154 others.
The number of affected housing units is about 830 units, 130 housing units in full, while 700 others were partially damaged.
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