To address the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is initiating a “Global Week of Action” for workers around the world to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. “The working class will not remain silent in the face of these atrocities,” the WFTU said. “The heroic Palestinian people are not alone in their struggle.”
Scheduled for September 15-22, the labor federation is calling on its affiliated unions and the international working class to increase workplace action through solidarity demonstrations, blocking arms shipments to Israel, boycott and divestment campaigns, and assisting humanitarian aid mobilizations like the Gaza Freedom Flotillas.
In its statement promoting the action, the WFTU accused the Israeli government of using hunger as a weapon of war and expanding its “terrorist activities in the West Bank.” These actions, the federation asserted, “are in clear conflict with every notion of humanity and respect for human life.”
They noted that, despite international outrage, the Israeli aggression “not only continues unabated but is escalating.” This continuous aggression is fueled by the “cynicism and provocativeness” of the Israeli state, they said.
To make matters worse for the Palestinian people, now facing famine, the Israeli settler forces plan to launch a “full-scale operation” in order to occupy the entire Gaza Strip. The WFTU characterized these plans plainly as “yet another crime to be added to the long list of crimes against humanity” by the Israeli state.
The federation placed direct blame for the escalation on the “tolerance and unconditional support of the U.S. and its allies in the EU and NATO.” It argued that, despite recent rhetorical shifts from some countries, they have “consistently supported the aggression and expansionism of the Israeli state in every way possible.”
The statement also condemned the revival of “Trump’s plan” to forcibly displace the people of Gaza and seize their land and homes for Israeli expansionism. Reports from the Washington Post and later by Zo Haderekh, the newspaper of the Communist Party of Israel, detail a U.S.-Israeli initiative to hand Gaza over to private real estate developers.
“U.S. and Israeli investors would be the central players, with the United Arab Emirates playing the role of key Arab partner. This is the current political future for Palestine being jointly pursued by the Trump administration and the Netanyahu government,” said Zo Haderekh.
Their plan aims to build a “Middle East Riviera” over the homes and lands of expelled Palestinians. It represents the latest gruesome example of the ethnic cleansing and exploitation underpinning the fascistic assault on the Palestinian people. “The supreme principle,” Zo Haderekh said, “is profit.”
The WFTU’s “Global Week of Action” draws inspiration from the successful worker-led actions across Europe since the start of the war. As previously reported by People’s World, European dockworkers have already taken decisive steps to block arms shipments to Israel.
Earlier this month, dockworker unions in Italy, represented by the Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), pledged to blockade ports to stop the transfer of weapons and protect humanitarian aid ships destined for Gaza.
“Our struggle will not end until the Palestinian people are free and living in peace,” they said.
The WFTU reiterated its longtime demands for an immediate end to Israel’s military action in Gaza and the West Bank, an end to the blockade, and to allow unfettered humanitarian aid.
More than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 150,000 injured since the start of the war. The overwhelming majority are women and children. The current genocide in Gaza is a continuation of the 76-year-long war by Israel on the Palestinian people.
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