The predicament of Palestinian workers in Israel 

The Palestinian economy is in a state of total collapse with a 31% rate of unemployment in the West Bank. As a result, despite the difficult circumstances they face, the number of Palestinians seeking work inside Israel is increasing. Of the approximately one million Palestinian workers living in the West Bank, only a small number are allowed to legally work inside Israel. In 2009, no more than 23,000 Palestinians were given Israeli work permits. Nevertheless, around 40,000 Palestinians continue to work inside Israel, almost half of them do so illegally. As a result, most of these workers are exploited by employers who are aware of their illegal status and sometimes they are not paid at all - if they complain, they are simply handed over to the authorities. The estimated 25,000 Palestinians who enter Israel illegally each year live in constant fear of exposure to the police. According to Moshe Ben Shi, a spokesman for the Israeli Border Police, 15,000 illegal Palestinian workers are arrested annually. Difficult living and working conditions In a report by Al Jazeera-net last November, a Palestinian worker from Tulkarem in the West Bank described the occupied territories as a “large prison, lacking in the basics of life” from where tens of thousands of Palestinian workers enter Israel without permits on a journey that takes up to 24 hours, even though Tulkarem is only a few minutes from Israel as the crow flies. Another worker told the same source that staying in the West Bank was tantamount to a “slow death”, which is why he and people like him “go into the unknown [in Israel] without work permits”. A third man said that men are not “scared of jail, nor the oppression of the occupation”, Palestinian migrant workers fear being unemployed more than anything else. According to the report, many workers stay in fields without any of the basic necessities of life. There are neither cooking utensils nor water for washing and bathing. They hang their clothes on trees and when they sleep, it is on the ground with their shoes at the ready to run if an Israeli police patrol should appear. Fact Sheet “We leave our families for months. Sometimes you forget the facial features of your children… who grow up while you are away... we are humiliated and face prosecution... we work from sunrise until sunset for very low wages,” said one worker. “Imagine,” added another, “going through this day in, day out, or working for someone for several days only for him to refuse to pay you and threaten to report you to the police.” Political decisions make conditions for Palestinian workers worse The Israeli authorities frequently make decisions that have a serious effect on Palestinian workers inside Israel. For example, Israeli pension funds are no longer allowed to insure Palestinian workers, and an annual tax of $1,000 has been imposed on every Palestinian working inside the old Green Line (the 1967 ceasefire line). In 2007, the Israeli government decided to subject Palestinian workers to Jordanian law, which resulted in dozens of workers being deprived of what few privileges they had, while Israeli workers in similar positions continued to enjoy the benefits of Israeli law. Observers claim that these decisions will force many workers out of their jobs as they will not be able to pay the tax. Despite a Supreme Court decision making it mandatory on employers and the Israeli government to guarantee Palestinian workers social security and all pension rights as long as they have made the necessary contributions, the Israeli authorities have not implemented the Court’s directive. Even so, it has been revealed that the average Palestinian worker pays 17.5% of his salary towards such benefits, without receiving them. This is seen by many as one way for the Israeli government to get large sums of extra income for the treasury without increasing expenditure, at the cost of depriving Palestinian workers of their entitlement. This reflects the level of discrimination against Palestinians and violates all international labour standards. It also breaches the Paris Economic Agreement signed by Israel and the PLO, which does not allow any reductions in salaries and privileges without the consent of the two parties.

By Senussi Bsaikri

Ref: Middle East Monitor