Via Engage, a significant development which will leave many boycotters scratching their heads:

“Brussels, 6 August 2008 (ITUC OnLine): The Israeli national trade union centre Histadrut and the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), both of which are affiliated to the ITUC, have reached a landmark agreement to protect the rights of Palestinian workers employed by Israeli employers, and to base future relations on negotiations, dialogue and joint initiatives to advance ‘fraternity and coexistence between the two peoples.’ The current agreement draws on the terms of an initial 1995 agreement, which it had not been possible to fully implement in the intervening years.

The key features of the agreement include the reimbursement by Histadrut to the PGFTU of the outstanding balance of union and legal representation fees paid since 1993 by Palestinians working for Israeli employers. The reimbursement is based on a detailed year-by-year analysis of the fees paid by Palestinian workers, taking into account funds previously transferred to the PGFTU. The PGFTU will have sole discretion as to how the funds will be spent, in line with its Constitution.

In the future, at least 50% of the representation fees paid by Palestinians working for Israeli employers will be transferred to the PGFTU, to enable both organizations to provide representation, legal and other trade union services to the workers.”

Read the rest on the International Trade Union Confederation website.

The more keen-eyed among you will notice that PGFTU logo features a map of Palestine which includes Israel. I’d also point out that the emblem of Fatah, led by PA President Mahmoud Abbas prominently features two guns. No-one would pretend that the notion of a one-state solution or of support for the “armed struggle” has disappeared from those factions and organizations which are not affiliated with Hamas. But the agreement between the Histadrut - too often slandered as an “apartheid” union - and the PGFTU illustrates how dogma can be overcome in order to advance concrete gains for workers on both sides. As Ofer Eini of the Histadrut argues, “[E]very worker, whether of Israeli, Palestinian or other origin, must have full rights to the protections offered by international labour standards.”

Exactly. And whether you are in Tel Aviv or Ramallah, those protections will bring the real benefits which no amount of pro-boycott posturing ever could.