Palestinian trade unions have called on international workers and unions around the world to unite and take action against Israel’s actions in Gaza, as part of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement to end all state, corporate and institutional complicity in ‘Israel’s illegal occupation, apartheid and genocide’.
This call was made on May Day (International Workers’ Day), with the unions urging workers to escalate the BDS movement and ensure that ‘workers, whether in ports, on ships, in business, or in government offices, are not involved in actions that involve complicity in Israel’s war crimes’.
Global Impact
The BDS movement has recently called for an intensification of boycotts against companies allegedly involved in Israel’s prison complex and military operations, with the campaign urging governments to impose lawful sanctions and full arms embargoes, citing recent moves by countries such as Spain as a precedent.
In South Africa, the movement submitted a legal dossier to the Minister of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, calling for an immediate halt to South African coal exports to Israel, and for Tau to use Section 6 of the International Trade and Administration Act to impose export restrictions.
South African Response
According to Ministerial spokesperson, Kaamil Alli, Minister Tau is expected to meet the movement this week to discuss the matter, as the unions stated Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza has hastened the onslaught of a “might makes right” era that threatens humanity at large.
The unions also stated that this has manifested itself in the collapse of the respect for international law, human rights and workers’ rights, and that the 2024 decisions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), that Israel is plausibly committing genocide, that its’ occupation is illegal, and its policies amount to apartheid, make ending all complicity in Israel’s crimes not only a moral but also a legal obligation.
Some of the key demands of the Palestinian trade unions include:
- An immediate halt to all trade with Israel
- A full arms embargo on Israel
- Lawful sanctions against Israel
- An end to all complicity in Israel’s war crimes
The unions believe that these demands are essential to ending the suffering of the Palestinian people and to promoting a more just and equitable world order.
