RAMALLAH, April 14, 2026 (WAFA) – Shaher Saad, Secretary-General of the General Federation of Palestinian Trade Unions, condemned the brutal treatment of dozens of workers yesterday as they attempted to cross an Israeli military checkpoint in a garbage truck. He described the treatment as one of abuse, beatings, assault, and humiliation.

He stated that the humiliating and severe beatings suffered by more than 70 workers, nearly half of whom were hospitalized with bruises and contusions, demonstrate the escalating suffering of workers over the past three years and the rising unemployment rate, which now stands at 40% of the workforce (550,000 unemployed).

Saad noted that the need to earn a living forces workers to risk their lives trying to reach their workplaces inside the 1948 territories. He added that each worker pays between 1,200 and 1,500 shekels for transportation, and sometimes they return without finding work.

He emphasized that alternatives for workers facing unemployment are extremely limited, and sometimes nonexistent, given the deteriorating economic situation and the risks of arrest, humiliation, exorbitant fines, and exploitation by brokers.

Saad called on international trade union federations and the International Labour Organization to investigate the treatment of these workers, especially since there is documented evidence of such treatment, the latest example being the garbage truck incident.

K.T