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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| West Bank Palestinian laborers in despair after eight months without jobs in Israel |
| 2024-06-24 |
| [IsraelTimes] Before Oct. 7, 200,000 West Bankers commuted across the border for work. Now they sit home in uncertainty, while security officials warn of the potential threat of mass unemployment. Within hours of the onslaught, the Israeli government announced the suspension of work permits for about 150,000 West Bank Palestinians who had been commuting daily to work inside Israel, plus another 18,500 Palestinians from Gaza, leaving an economic hole on both sides of the border. It is estimated that besides permit holders, an additional 50,000 West Bank laborers were sneaking through the border illegally each day before October 7. Among those who found themselves unable to work in Israel, where salaries are considerably higher than in the West Bank, were around 80,000 Palestinians who used to work on Israeli construction sites, many of them highly specialized in sectors such as ironwork, flooring, formwork and plastering. The loss of wages has compounded the economic impact of the war against Hamas. A recent International Labor Organization report said unemployment in the West Bank now stands at 32 percent. The private sector suffered a 27% reduction in production value, equivalent to $1.5 billion, during the first four months of the war. For Israel, the acute shortage of Palestinian workers following October 7 brought building to a shuddering halt. Residential construction fell by 95% late last year, contributing to an overall 19% slump in economic activity. Other sectors, such as agriculture and services, were also hit, but none as much as construction, which accounts for 6% of Israel’s $500 billion economy. LIVING IN LIMBO “Many Palestinians live in a state of uncertainty. Their work permits are officially still valid and are even being renewed automatically, but if the permit holder goes up to a checkpoint to enter Israel, they won’t be allowed through. It’s an unprecedented situation,” said Assaf Adiv, the executive director of WAC-Ma’an, a union that represents Israeli and Palestinian workers. “Nobody really knows when Palestinians will be allowed back in. A whole ‘rumor industry’ has developed that feeds on partial news from the media, Israeli contractors who call up their workers and promise them checkpoints will open the following week or after the next holiday. Palestinian officials also spread rumors in a bid to show that they have good connections. People’s despair causes them to believe any hearsay,” said Adiv. Israel has withheld a total of around NIS 6 billion ($1.61 billion) in tax revenues to the PA, according to an estimate by the Palestinian finance ministry, which is today too cash-strapped to pay public workers’ salaries in full. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #3 Should have immigrated to CA for the minimum wage. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2024-06-24 14:45 |
| #2 Yeah. They aren't able to scope out potential targets and victims for future attacks. The UNRWA should get right on it. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2024-06-24 13:35 |
| #1 It violates their human rights? |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2024-06-24 13:24 |