Israeli Ban on West Bank Palestinian Workers May Devastate PA Economy
Palestinian workers with permits to enter Israel, whose labor brings in the equivalent of 35% of the PA’s GDP, have been barred from working in Israel and see no foreseeable end to the ban.
Thousands of West Bank Palestinians with work permits allowing them to work in Israel are staying home in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Israel has placed a complete closure on the West Bank checkpoints, blocking the entry of Palestinian workers.
If prolonged, the closure may result in losses in the billions of shekels and spell disaster for an already ailing economy.
The Israeli military regularly imposes a ban on Palestinian workers’ entry to Israel after major attacks on Jewish settlers in the West Bank or following a terrorist attack inside Israel, but those closures typically don’t last long.
In this case, though, many workers fear that the closure will last a long while.
Israel says security reasons are behind its decision not to allow Palestinian workers into the country.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, about 140,000 West Bank Palestinians worked in Israel in the first and second quarters of 2023. Most work in agriculture or construction.
The workers who have been blocked from entering Israel will presumably be unable to fulfill their financial obligations, potentially resulting in massive economic damage.
The war may last months, and if it does, it will deprive us of the steady income that we depend on.
“The war may last months, and if it does, it will deprive us of the steady income that we depend on,” Zaid Na’aman, one of the affected workers, told The Media Line.
Na’aman, 46, is a construction worker and father of four from the northwestern West Bank city of Qalqilya. He says that a prolonged closure will have disastrous consequences.
“It’s an act of collective punishment. We provide good work for a reasonable income. We didn’t do anything. If Israel has a problem with Hamas, we shouldn’t pay the price,” Na’aman said.
There is no official body working to support these workers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Palestinian Authority (PA) gave affected workers a one-time payment of 700 shekels ($170), but so far it has not provided anything to workers affected by the current crisis.
Each individual worker’s loss of income will likely affect multiple generations.
“We support our parents, brothers, and extended family,” Na’aman said.
Abu El Abed, a 53-year-old from a village near Ramallah, has been working in Israel for over two decades, in a variety of fields.
“It doesn’t matter where you put me,” he told The Media Line. “I worked in construction, restaurants, hotels, and farming.”
He said that Israel’s decision to bar Palestinian workers will have a negative impact on Israel as well as on Palestinian society since Israel will be deprived of its “best available workforce.”
The Palestinian Monetary Authority estimates that Palestinian workers in Israel inject about $5.5 billion into the PA economy annually, the equivalent of about 35% of its GDP.
Ramallah-based economic analyst Dr. Thabit Abo Al Ros told The Media Line that, in the context of dwindling foreign aid, the Israel closure will devastate the Palestinian economy.
Dependence on Israel is also a factor in the Palestinian economy’s fragility, Abo Al Ros said. He noted that Israel already fails to fully repay the taxes that it collects on the PA’s behalf.
“There will be a steep decline in income coming into the PA treasury, which will affect its ability to fulfill many of its obligations,” Abo Al Ros said.
Israel has threatened to replace Palestinian workers with workers from China or India, which would “create a huge problem for the PA.”
Hamas’ Oct. 7 incursion has greatly shaken Israel and the entire Middle East. In response to the attack, Israel launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, at least 5,791 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since Oct. 7, including 2,360 children, and 16,297 have been injured. In the West Bank, 96 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers and settlers.
More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed, 5,132 wounded, and 224 abducted in the ongoing conflict.
