Egypt Hits Israel at Ilo Conference

An Egyptian official accused Israel today of depriving Arab workers of their rights in the occupied territories. Sood Mohammed Ahmed, Egypt’s Minister of Manpower and Vocational Training, spoke at the meeting of the International Labor Organization (ILO) here. “The actual exercise of trade union rights by Arab workers in the occupied territories is encountering many difficulties in view of the pressure exerted by the occupation authorities,” Ahmed said.

As the Egyptian started to speak, the delegates of the Arab rejectionist states we###ed out in a gesture of protest against Egypt’s pe### treaty with Israel. Earlier, the Iraqi Labor Minister road out a memorandum submitted by the Arab labor ministers demanding that the UN agency re-examine Israel’s membership in the organization. Following a point of order by the Israeli Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Yoel Barromi, the chairman ruled that the memorandum could not be accepted as a proposal, only as a speech. No agenda items directed against Israel had been filed in advance of the ILO meeting.

DEFENDS PEACE TREATY

Sood, referring to the condition of Arab workers in the Israel administered territories, said “It is very clear that this is an issue of occupation and unless this issue is solved and Israel withdraws from the occupied Arab territories and enables the Palestinians to enjoy self-determination, this problem will continue to threaten world peace and security in the Middle East.” Sood said “The recent peace initiatives were a step in the right direction toward restoring their rights to the people to whom they are due.” He added, “We would like to declare once more that the peace agreement (with-Israel) is a step toward a comprehensive peace of the Middle East crisis based on the realization of the national rights of the Palestinian people and the withdrawal of Israel from all occupied Arab territories including Arab Jerusalem.”