Deported Arabs Told There Are Few Jobs in Occupied Areas
JERUSALEM — Arab labor organizers reported Monday that thousands of Palestinians have been deported from Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states but urged them to try to return to their jobs because little work is available in the Israeli-occupied territories.
The General Federation of Trade Unions in the territories estimated that 56,675 Palestinians have been deported from Saudi Arabia and the gulf region since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
During a news conference in East Jerusalem, leaders of the Palestinian labor organization said they are concerned about the return of Palestinians to the territories because few jobs are available to them. They called on wealthy Palestinians to help finance projects in the territories in order to provide more jobs.
Federation members estimate unemployment in the territories at roughly 30% and claim the high rate is in part a result of Soviet Jewish immigration.
They estimated that 8,000 Palestinians have returned to the territories while another 80,000 remain stranded in Jordan.
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