A message from the «Department of External Relations of the Democratic Front» on May 1st to the workers of the world, Palestinian workers on their day: a struggle for national liberation and breaking the chains of dependency

Dear trade unions and political parties worldwide,
Greetings,
Workers around the world mark May 1st with activities that reaffirm their determination to continue the struggle against systems and laws of injustice, and against the brutal exploitation of savage capitalism, which feeds on the lifeblood of peoples and controls their present and future. Palestinian workers observe this occasion through a dual struggle: against Israeli settler-colonial occupation on the path to national liberation, and for an economy free from Israeli domination, which has pushed the Palestinian economy to the brink of collapse.
While Israeli policies constitute the primary cause of this collapse and of the suffering endured by Palestinian workers and people, the occupation in Palestine is not merely a military occupation. It is also a fascist occupation that daily seizes Palestinian land, converting it into industrial and agricultural settlements, relying on Palestinian labor while subjecting workers to all forms of oppression and exploitation.
The war of extermination against the Gaza Strip has erased decades of development efforts, according to a report issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which classified the Palestinian economic crisis among the ten worst global economic crises since 1960. This is due to the widespread destruction inflicted on infrastructure, productive assets, and vital services, wiping out decades of social and economic progress.
Numerous UN reports also confirm that the dependency of the Palestinian economy has created a “structural dependency” that makes it impossible to build an independent national economy. Among the most prominent consequences of this dependency are:
– Continuous economic contraction and the inability to accumulate sustainable development gains.
– Trade and customs dependency, restrictions on access to natural resources, and lack of control over borders and crossings.
– Destruction of key productive sectors, transforming the economy into one primarily reliant on services.
– Rising poverty and unemployment rates to record levels due to the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs, especially in Israel.
As for Palestinian workers outside Palestine, they are affected by conditions in host countries. Data indicates they face a compounded crisis: the difficult economic situations in Arab host countries impact them disproportionately – especially in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan – while they are also subject to unjust laws that restrict their right to work (as in Lebanon). This is compounded by Israel’s comprehensive economic war, supported directly by some Western countries, notably through targeting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which functions as a quasi-public sector for refugees who rely on it almost entirely.
The genocidal war waged by Israeli fascism against our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank – alongside policies of killing, destruction, starvation, and blockade – has placed the Palestinian working class in an unprecedented situation not seen since the occupation of Palestinian territories in 1967. This is due both to Israeli practices and those of its settlers, as well as the absence of fair social and economic policies capable of enabling our workers and people to withstand occupation and its policies.
On behalf of the Department of External Relations of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, we extend our salute to workers around the world who have condemned and rejected the aggression against our people. We call on them to continue their actions in confronting the genocidal war being waged by Israeli fascism in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We also call on all governments, parliaments, and global trade unions to stand with the Palestinian people, including by boycotting the occupying state, halting the supply of funds, weapons, and ammunition, and boycotting its products stained with the blood of Palestinian workers and people