Economic Rights Article 6 (1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) recognizes “the right to work, which includes the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts”.145 Article 8 of the ICESCR further protects the right to work by protecting the right of everyone to form and join trade unions for the promotion and protection of his economic and social interests.146 Furthermore, Article 43 of The Hague Regulations is generally interpreted as stating that the occupying state must refrain from taking into consideration its own national economic and social interests in as much as these do not have an effect on either the security of the occupying state or the interest of the occupied population.147 This stands in stark contrast to realities on the ground in the oPt, where Israel as an occupying power has greatly altered the socio-economic conditions of Palestinians. The restrictions on the Palestinian economy are, among others, Israel’s withholding of clearance revenues from the Palestinian Authority (PA), since the PA declared that it would accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, or Israel’s control over natural resources in the oPt.148 As a result, in 2014, Palestinian workers working in East Jerusalem, Israel or one of the many illegal Israeli colonies in the West Bank were earning 2.25 times more than the average private sector wage in the West Bank.149 A total of 110,300 Palestinians were employed in Israel and illegal Israeli colonies in the 145 UN General Assembly, “International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights”, 16 December 1966. Available at: www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b36c0.html 146 Ibid. 147 Michael Waelbroeck and Willem Aldershoff, “Israel’s obligations as an occupying power under international law, its violations and implications for EU policy”, European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine, 29 January 2014. Available at: www.eccpalestine.org/israelsobligations-as-an-occupying-power-under-international-law-its-violations-and-implications-for-eupolicy/ 148 The International Labour Organization, “The Situation of Workers of the Occupied Palestinian Territories”, International Labour Office, 2015, page 5. Available at: www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/ public/@ed_norm/@relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_368279.pdf 149 Ibid. page 14 43