The International Labour Organization (ILO) is
seeking $20 million to respond to the critical needs of hundreds
of thousands of Palestinian workers and employers affected by the
current conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The funding appeal - launched on Thursday in Geneva – will be
used to implement a three-phase programme to provide immediate
relief and support longer-term job and business recovery, as well
as social protection.
“The hostilities have resulted in – and continue to cause – both
a tragic loss of human life, and an unprecedented loss of
livelihoods, jobs, income, businesses, and civilian
infrastructure,” said ILO Director-General
Gilbert Houngbo, speaking at the launch, which was held on the
sidelines of the latest session of the agency’s governing body.
Economic activity crippled
The ILO has published a bulletin that
examines how the conflict – which erupted on 7 October - has so
far impacted the labour market and livelihoods in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (OPT), home to more than 3.4 million
people, with a labour force of over 1.5 million.
The UN agency estimates at least 61 per cent of the labour market
in Gaza has been wiped out; equivalent to 182,000 jobs. The
conflict is also having spillover effects in the West Bank, where
nearly 24 per cent of employment has also been lost, equivalent
to 208,000 jobs. Put together, this translates to $16 million in
daily labour income that has been lost.
Mr. Houngbo outlined the destruction in Gaza. He said entire
neighbourhoods have been destroyed, infrastructure has been
severely damaged, businesses have closed, large-scale internal
displacement has occurred, and the lack of water, food and fuel
are crippling economic activity.
Workers stranded, trade restricted
Additionally, almost 6,000 residents who were working in Israel
prior to the conflict are presently stranded in the West Bank
amidst dire conditions. UN health and aid workers on the ground
are also in extreme danger.
Furthermore, access measures enforced by Israel across the OPT
have effectively revoked access rights, as workers and traders
with valid permits are prevented from entering Israel and East
Jerusalem through any checkpoints.
Trade restrictions have also been applied for vital goods
transiting from Israeli ports to the OPT, further jeopardizing
the basic needs of families and the overall economy.
Situation set to worsen
Gaza has been under Israeli blockade since 2006, so conditions
were already particularly dire even before the conflict.
The enclave has had persistently high rates of poverty and
vulnerability and its unemployment rate – 46.4 per cent as of the
second quarter of this year – is among the highest in the world.
“The already huge losses our research has identified are only
projected to increase if the conflict and tragic humanitarian
crisis continue, with repercussions that will be felt for many
years to come,” warned ILO Regional Director for Arab States,
Ruba Jaradat.
Assistance, analysis and recovery
The ILO response programme aims to address the impact of the
crisis in three phases.
The first focuses on immediate relief and is already underway. It
entails providing immediate assistance such as emergency
livelihood support schemes to Palestinian workers, including the
Gazans who are now stranded in the West Bank after losing their
jobs inside Israel.
The ILO has already channelled around $2 million of its internal
resources towards emergency relief interventions and preliminary
data collection. It is also working on allocating further
resources to implement the response plan.
The second stage covers data collection and impact analysis to
help plan, prioritize and fine-tune interventions.
The final phase addresses recovery. The focus will be on job
creation through “employment intensive infrastructure recovery”
and other means, in addition to social protection measures and
recovery of jobs and businesses.
