Ikhwanweb :: The Muslim Brotherhood Official English Website

GAZA, -- Dr. Taleb Abu Sha’ar, the Palestinian minister of religious affairs, on Saturday expressed on the occasion of May Day his solidarity with Palestinian workmen especially in occupied Jerusalem who suffer harsh living conditions as a result of the ongoing violations committed against them by Israel.

In a press release, Dr. Abu Sha’ar said that the Israeli occupation is imposing a suffocating siege on the West Bank and Jerusalem people through expanding its segregation wall, closing all roads leading to the holy city and tightening security measures, which made thousands of workmen live in difficult economic circumstances.

He affirmed that Israel and its settlers nowadays are waging a ferocious campaign against the Palestinian people and escalating their aggressive attacks against Palestinian workmen and farmers as well as their property and real estate in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The minister appealed to all international parties and local officials to stand by the Palestinian workmen especially in Jerusalem and develop plans and projects to support them.

For his part, minister of labor and social affairs Ahmed Al-Kurd said his government is diligently working on mitigating the economic burdens which the working class in Gaza is living under.

Kurd told the Palestinian information center (PIC) on the occasion of May Day that the Palestinian government in Gaza is embarking on supporting tens of thousands of workmen though creating job opportunities or providing them with financial assistance.

The minister of labor strongly denounced Egypt for pumping poisonous gas into a tunnel at Rafah border area on Wednesday killing four Palestinian workmen and called on it to take a bold decision to break the unjust siege on Gaza people rather than tightening the noose around their necks.

He also appealed to the UN to shoulder its humanitarian responsibilities towards Gaza people and pressure the besieging parties to lift their blockade on Gaza.

In the same context, noted Egyptian writer Abdelhalim Qandil, the editor-in-chief of Al-Karama newspaper, launched a scathing attack on the Egyptian regime for killing Palestinian tunnel workmen in Rafah area.

In a press statement to the PIC on Friday, Qandil denounced the Egyptian authorities for denying responsibility for killing four tunnel workmen days ago, affirming that no one could do such a thing except the Egyptian side.

“We did not see a regime dealing in this way with his besieged brothers. The Egyptian regime did not only help the Zionist enemy to blockade Gaza people, but it went too far to the extent of killing tunnel workmen, who move goods and medicines through the tunnels that are considered the lifeblood for the beleaguered people,” the writer underlined.