By Beyza Binnur Donmez
GENEVA (AA) - The president of the Arab Group urged International Labor Organization (ILO) member states on Wednesday to join the recent recognition of Palestine as a state by some European countries.
The remarks by Ahmed Al-Asadi came at an event for the International Forum for Solidarity with the Workers and People of Palestine and the Other Occupied Arab Territories on the sidelines of the International Labor Conference in Geneva.
He thanked Spain, Norway, Ireland and Slovenia for recognizing the state of Palestine.
Faiez Al-Mutairi, director general of the Arab Labor Organization, Palestinian Labor Minister Enas Alatari and Gilbert F. Hongbo, director general of ILO, joined Al-Asadi in expressing gratitude for the recognition.
Al-Mutairi underlined the need for accountability for the "brutal and unjust war" in the Gaza Strip and said it is the duty of ILO members to support the legitimate rights of Arab and Palestinian workers.
Alatari said the onslaught is seeking to "erase the land" of Palestine and urged the states who had yet to recognize Palestine to join Spain, Norway, Ireland and Slovenia.
Hongbo drew attention to the fact that the war not only killed a "massive” number of civilians and caused a "desperate" humanitarian crisis but also deepened the economic crisis by devastating the labor market in Gaza.
He said the ILO estimates that two-thirds of employment has been lost in Gaza compared to before Oct. 7, when Israeli settlements near Gaza were attacked by Palestinian resistance factions, led by Hamas.
Hundreds and thousands of jobs have also been lost in the West Bank, he said, adding that the labor market "cannot survive" under Israeli occupation.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
More than 36,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 83,000 others have been injured, according to local health authorities.
Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.