Banned from Israel, desperate West Bank workers risk lives to cross back in to find jobs

Amid dire economic circumstances, West Bank Palestinians who have seen their economy crushed by war are smuggling themselves across heavily armed checkpoints, just to work illegally in Israel.

At the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza it banned nearly all Palestinian workers from entering the country, a decision that affected about 150,000 West Bank Palestinians who used to cross over to Israel each day for work, as well as about 18,000 Gazans.

A tiny fraction of them have since returned legally. In December, Israeli businesses pressured lawmakers to grant an exception for some 8,000 to 10,000 Palestinian workers to return amid a sharp labour crunch that has hurt Israel’s economy, which relies heavily on Palestinian workers to sustain its industries.

The war on Gaza has taken a massive toll on the West Bank’s economy, which has shrunk by 22.7 percent and seen its unemployment rate rise to 32 percent, according to International Labor Organization data.

With few options, many desperate Palestinians are looking for ways to cross into Israel to keep working, even illegally.

Israeli newspaper Yediot Achronot reported that 40,000 Palestinians have been entering through gaps in the separation wall, the combination of fences and walls in and around the West Bank that isolate Palestinians from Israel. 

To pull it off, Palestinians have had to pay smugglers, bribe army officials, and risk arrest and harsh treatment at checkpoints.

One such example is Jihad al-Jabareen, a 47-year-old from Nablus. After the war cut him off from work, he snuck back to his job as a construction worker in Ashkelon by concealing himself inside an ambulance and liaising with its driver. He then took the Rantis checkpoint west of Ramallah, which he said typically has less stringent inspections.

But once in Israel, Al-Jabareen’s luck turned south. His employer, exploiting Al-Jabareen’s illegal status, started withholding his monthly salary for three months. Adding insult to injury, the construction site he was working at was raided and everyone was arrested for working illegally. Al-Jabareen said he was beaten by Israeli police.

Survival strategies

According to Shaheer Saad, Secretary General of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, 5,1000 workers from Gaza and the West Bank have been detained from their workplaces inside the occupied territories for working without proper licences in Israel or breaching their stay.

To find another job, Al-Jabareen turned to a smuggler who helps Palestinians cross via the Jalemeh checkpoint, near Jenin. He got into a car with a girl and two other young men. After about 500 metres, they were asked to pay 600 shekels each to the smuggler. But it was all in vain. At the checkpoint, Israeli police arrested the whole group.

One smuggler who spoke on the condition of anonymity to The New Arab described how the process usually works: He charges 500 shekels per worker and brings them over by bribing army officers stationed at the checkpoints. He runs about 10 to 20 smuggling campaigns each weekend, earning about 9,000 shekels. On weekdays he does about five runs through the checkpoints.

According to the smuggler, the amounts paid to the army can vary considerably, depending on the number of workers smuggled in, and the officers at the checkpoint. 

He said that Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, is aware of the smuggling operations, but chooses not to intervene. The New Arab could not independently verify these claims.

Firas Jaber, a Ramallah-based researcher, said that Israeli officials are largely looking the other way, allowing Palestinian workers to enter Israel out of economic necessity, as Israel’s construction and agriculture industries are hard hit by labour shortages.  

“The Israeli economy, which is the Israeli power in the region, is collapsing because of the restrictions. If workers are not allowed to enter, where will they find homes to live in two years? That's why employers allow workers to enter — personal interests trump public interests. Employers will not wait a year or more for Israelis to allow workers to enter legally,” he said.

To live in Israel is to live like a ghost 

On the other side, the Palestinian job market can’t possibly absorb the workers, who earn far more in Israel and badly need the income.

At least on the surface, Israel has severe measures aimed at curbing illegal workers. In recent months they’ve even increased the penalties: employers risk being hit by fines or having their operations suspended for days, for intentionally employing large numbers of workers without permits.

Still, many are willing to take the risk.

In the central Israeli city of Lod, one Palestinian holding Israeli citizenship said he rents his home to illegal Palestinian workers, despite the penalties if he’s caught. He earns about 20,000 shekels a month from renting apartments out at about 3,000 shekels each, he said.

Another worker who tried his luck is Issam Al-Araj, 30, from Ramallah. Four months into the war, he opted to return to his job in Israel, in interior designing, because there was no way to make ends meet from the West Bank. 

Al-Araj got the green light from his manager to come back to work, so he crossed over, using the Beit Sira checkpoint. The first time entering, he managed to get through by paying the lump of 500 shekels to a smuggler. Though the checkpoints were terror-inducing, he found life generally safe once inside Israel, where he stayed for three weeks, before returning. 

The second time he crossed to Israel, he wasn’t so lucky. Al-Araj and a driver went to the Ni’lin checkpoint west of Ramallah. The army stopped them to ask about their destination and then confiscated the car and the driver for 24 hours. Al-Araj was held for two hours and then released.

On the third attempt, police stopped them at Kharbatha Bridge. He was forced to pay another 600 Israeli shekels ($159) to bribe his way to his workplace.

Once in Israel, Al-Araj said he uses a bike to get around. He avoids public transportation because it risks getting him stopped and questioned, which could mean deportation. He lives in a small house with 30 other workers, each using a thin mattress on the floor for a bed, and plastic bags as wardrobes. Yet, they still have to pay 1,000 shekels each.

“You live as a ghost in Israel out of fear of being discovered. If someone asks me for my credentials or permission, I’d get into trouble and so would my employer, and he’s been good to me,” said Al-Araj.

“It’s an uncomfortable life, but what other options do I have?” 

Aseel Mafarjeh is a West Bank-focused journalist, focusing on stories that speak of the challenges and creativity of youth in Palestine

This piece was published in collaboration with Egab