A Week After the Strike – Palestinian Worker Died at a Checkpoint
Ahmed Abdir, father of five, stood waiting in the long line at the Tulkarem checkpoint, on his way to work in Israel. After hours of waiting in transit, feeling unwell, he collapsed and died.
Here you will find Kav LaOved’s response to this event:
Ahmad Samih Abdir, a married father of five children is a Palestinian who tonight arrived at the Tulkarem crossing and waited in line on his way to work in Israel as a construction worker. After hours of waiting in transit, Abdir felt ill, collapsed, and died.
Every morning, thousands of Palestinian workers are squeezed into long lines at checkpoints on their way into Israel and are faced with deadly conditions. Recently, we witnessed publications about a strike at a checkpoint, which was started by workers who tried to complain about the inhumane conditions at the crossings.
Kav LaOved has received reports which state that the arrangement reached for ending the strike, which involved increasing the number of terminals in the checkpoint from two transitions to more than ten, lasted only two days and thereafter the situation returned to its former state.
Kav LaOved: ”The death of Abdir must be a poignant warning and reminder to the policymakers of their duty to protect the lives and safety of the tens of thousands of Palestinian workers who travel into Israel every morning to work. Kav LaOved calls on authorities to take action immediately to increase the hours of operation at checkpoints, as well as to increase the number of active terminals. Kav LaOved is currently considering filing a petition on the subject for the Department of Defense to ensure the safety of workers.”
