Palestine slams Israel for ill-treatment of Palestinian workers

RAMALLAH, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Tuesday slammed Israel for the treatment of Palestinian workers.

Palestinian government spokesperson Ibrahim Milhem said that Israel's treatment of Palestinian workers at their workplaces inside Israel under the threat of the coronavirus pandemic is "racist and inhumane."

On Monday, Israeli forces let go of a Palestinian worker near the Beit Sera village's military checkpoint, north of the West Bank, despite his difficult health conditions and without informing him that he was infected with the coronavirus.

The worker later was transferred to a special center for coronavirus patients in the West Bank by paramedics from the Palestinian Red Cross.

Milhem called on Palestinian workers not to go for work at settlements in the West Bank where cases of COVID-19 have been registered.

"We are doing everything in our power to get our workers not to work in Israel under these difficult circumstances in order to guarantee their safety and the safety of their families and community," he added.

The Palestinian government had called on Israel to ensure humanitarian conditions for around 50,000 Palestinians and gave an ultimatum until March 22 to arrange for their stay inside Israel to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.