Palestinian Workers Deserve Dignity, Rights And A Future – Not Humiliation And Fear

I wanted to write to you about my visit to Palestine from 12 to 15 October 2026, where I witnessed the daily intimidation and humiliation faced by Palestinians. What I saw reinforced my conviction that the current situation will not provide a solution for either Palestinians or Israelis.

But there are progressive voices on both sides, including trade unions, ready to restart dialogue as part of a broad peace movement. The ITUC is determined to support them - ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle.

Palestinian workers deserve dignity, rights and a future – not humiliation and fear

Grim daily reality

950. That is the estimated number of checkpoints in the West Bank. When you set off to work, to a hospital or simply try to return home, you never know when you will arrive. The Israeli justification is that this is all for security, but what I saw was not about protection. At one point, after we had already spent a long-time queuing, an Israeli soldier simply stared at us for 15 minutes, as a queue stretched for kilometres behind us. What I saw was harassment, intimidation and humiliation. And for the three million Palestinians whose home is the West Bank, this is not an exceptional experience. It is part of everyday life.

During the mission, the Israeli military raided the offices of a women’s organisation and a human rights association in Ramallah, as well as a hospital. This has become a regular practice, often carried out with little or no real justification, but one that continuously reinforces a climate of insecurity and fear.

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Following my previous visit to Palestine in 2024, this time I focused on the unbearable economic and social situation in which people, workers and business are struggling to survive.

Workers under threat

The ITUC has already reported on my meetings with Palestinian workers in tourism and agriculture, the agreements we signed and the scale of the economic crisis they face.

At ‘Nakheel Palestine’ in Jericho, one of Palestine's largest date producers, I was told how difficult it is to keep a business running through restrictions, violent attacks on their orchards, and workers being blocked from reaching their workplace.

At NAPCO, the National Aluminium & Profile Company, based in Nablus, I was told that while USD20 million had been invested in a new production line that would create 260 jobs, it cannot be used. The foreign engineers needed to get production started are blocked from entering the West Bank by their own company due to insurance and safety concerns. Meanwhile, Palestinian workers have no choice but to try to keep their business and livelihoods going with the old production lines.

Representatives of the Palestinian Chamber of Commerce also confirmed to me that it is extremely difficult to operate in Palestine.

In this context, it was encouraging to see that trade union work continues. At NEDCO, the Northern Electricity Distribution Company in Nablus, I attended the signing of a new collective agreement between the PGFTU union and the employer. It was an important reminder that collective bargaining and social dialogue can still bring progress, even in the most challenging conditions.

Democracy and dignity cannot wait

In Gaza, the situation is beyond imagination. During an online conversation with PGFTU representatives there, I learned more details about the catastrophic humanitarian situation. With unemployment at nearly 80%, the daily priority for people in Gaza is simply to survive. Child labour, often involving the many orphaned children, is a daily and visible reality.

No child should have to work to survive. No worker should be deprived of the possibility of earning a decent living. And no society can build a sustainable future under such conditions. Therefore, it came as no surprise when, during my visit, it was announced that the planned elections in Palestine would be postponed to late 2027.

After two decades without national elections, it is clear that this vote must take place. They are an essential part of building a better, independent, democratic future for all Palestinians.

It is crucial, however, that a free, secure democratic vote is held simultaneously across the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Furthermore, conditions must guarantee a free and secure electoral environment for every Palestinian voter. However, these conditions are currently impossible to meet due to checkpoints, intimidation and violence primarily, though not exclusively, perpetrated by settlers.

To make things even worse, I was told about the deliberate underfunding of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is tasked with governing Palestine. A significant portion of its income comes from what are known as "Israeli tax clearance revenues."

Under the 1994 Paris Protocol, Israel collects customs duties, value-added taxes, and import taxes on goods destined for the Palestinian territories, transferring these funds to the PA monthly. The systematic withholding of these funds makes it impossible for the PA to develop and finance effective policies for Palestine. Once again, it is ordinary people and workers who pay the price.

I spoke about all this with the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammed Mustafa, and several cabinet ministers. I also met with various governors and mayors, all of whom described the difficult situation in the West Bank.

Stop the expansion

What stands out for me, compared with my visit in 2024, is the rapid expansion of illegal settlements. It often begins with a few containers, followed quickly by more, by the construction of houses, by fencing, a new road and a new checkpoint.

The expansion of illegal settlements must stop. Combined with the expansion of industrial activity and companies providing jobs for these settlers, it is reducing the chances of the two-state solution.

However, I saw for myself that the scale of this colonisation is growing. Traveling from Bethlehem to Ramallah we crossed the E1 project area – a development intended to split the West Bank in two, rendering any two-state political solution completely impossible.

Trade unions as engine for peace

This visit reinforced one fundamental conviction: the current situation cannot deliver a sustainable and peaceful future for either Palestinians or Israelis. Fortunately, there are progressive voices in Israel and Palestine who understand that another future is possible. People who believe in dialogue, mutual recognition, justice and peaceful coexistence.

Trade unions have a crucial role to play in bringing these voices together. Trade unions know how to build peace in the most difficult situations. The ITUC will work towards this with our member organisations in Israel and Palestine.

We cannot allow the present reality to define the future.

Peace must mean more than an end to violence. It must mean freedom, democracy, decent work, social justice and dignity for all.

That is the future Palestinian and Israeli workers deserve. And it is a future that trade unions, together with all those committed to justice and peace, must help to build.

Because dignity is not a privilege. Peace is not a luxury. And hope must never become a casualty of unending conflict.

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