Yatta – The Secretary-General of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), Shaher Saed, condemned the shooting carried out by Israeli occupation forces on Wednesday evening, March 25, 2026, which resulted in the killing of worker Yusri Majed Abu Qbeita after he was shot while on his way to his workplace in the construction sector inside the occupied territories.
Saed explained that Abu Qbeita, along with a number of other workers, was injured—some critically and 17 others moderately—after gunfire targeted a vehicle transporting workers on the Umm al-Khair road, east of Yatta. He stressed that this constitutes a serious violation of international laws and conventions that guarantee the protection of civilians and workers during their movement and pursuit of livelihood.
Saed called on the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) to assume their responsibilities, expose these crimes, and take serious action to pressure for ensuring protection for Palestinian workers and putting an end to the ongoing violations against them.
He affirmed that this crime is the second in Yatta and the third during March 2026, following a previous crime in Yatta that led to the killing of worker Amir Mohammad Shnaran in the Wadi al-Rakhim area by settlers’ gunfire on March 7, 2026. It also follows the second crime in the town of Tammun, south of Tubas, which resulted in the killing of worker Ali Khaled Sayel Bani Ouda (37), his wife Waad Othman Aql Bani Ouda (35), and their two children, Mohammad (5) and Othman (7), on March 15, 2026, while returning from the city of Nablus.
Saed stressed that the continued targeting of workers and their families reflects a dangerous escalation and calls for urgent international intervention to stop these violations, hold those responsible accountable, and ensure a safe environment that preserves the dignity and rights of Palestinian workers.
A videos documenting the brutal crime against Palestinian workers on the Umm al-Khair road, east of Yatta, is attached.
