Hamas issues license for companies to mediate between Gaza's Palestinian workers and Israeli employers

In an unprecedented step, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Labor announced that it issued licenses to private companies that provide job opportunities for Palestinian workers from the Gaza Strip in Israeli cities.

These companies are also responsible for mediation between the Palestinian worker in Gaza and the Israeli employer, according to Ihab Al-Ghussein, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labor in Gaza.

On Sunday, 13 August, al-Ghoussein said to local media outlets that the decision's official announcement to establish the companies arose out of the public interest of workers, to prevent their financial exploitation and extortion and curb the proliferation of work permit dealers and brokers.

"These companies are expected to operate before the end of August," al-Ghoussein added.

A source from one of the companies that will work in the sector said that the worker would pay a fee equivalent to US$800 every six months in return for providing them with a job opportunity directly with an Israeli employer.

"In return, the worker's rights will be fully guaranteed, including health insurance, end-of-service compensation, and a job guarantee compatible with his professional experience," the source added. 

Opinions in the besieged coastal enclave differed on "the new decision adopted by the Hamas government for the first time since it assumed power in Gaza, which considers Israel a hostile entity."

Some Palestinians attributed Hamas' decision as part of a strategic plan that would "more taxes collected officially from workers who are suffering greatly from poverty for many years."

Abd al-Haq Abd Rabbo, from the north of Gaza, denounced Hamas' move to establish "brokerage" companies to share with Gaza workers the money he described "was earned in a twisted way".

"As long as Hamas will eventually submit to the laws of the international community and accept to deal directly with Israel (even if under the pretext of providing us with work), why has it always insisted on waging fierce wars with Israel?" he said to The New Arab.

"This is a deceptive policy, which appears to help us get rid of brokers and blackmailers, but it is a step towards normalising relations with Israel through poor workers who only aspire to improve the economic conditions of their families," he added.

Others in Gaza, however, supported the decision, arguing that it guarantees workers' rights within the Israeli cities and limits workers falling victim to fraud and extortion by unofficial brokers in Gaza and Israel.

Ibrahim Odwan, a resident of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, expressed his joy with these companies, hoping that they would contribute to providing him with a job opportunity to earn money to support his ten-member family.

"We need to work urgently, and it does not matter whether Hamas will run these companies or others. What is important is that we work and eliminate unemployment, which has destroyed our lives," he said to TNA. 

"Because of Hamas, Fatah, Israel, and the conflict that extended for many years, we in the Gaza Strip have become mere beggars in the eyes of the international community. Therefore, Hamas' step may be in the right direction to improve our economic situation and ensure the return of security stability to Gaza," he added. 

For nearly two years, the Hamas-run Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah has been cooperating in managing the file of hiring workers from Gaza in Israel, according to previous understandings with the Israeli side.

According to the understandings between Hamas and Israel, Israel issued "economic needs permits to thousands of workers from Gaza, but it does not guarantee the worker his labour rights in terms of compensation for work injuries, end-of-service benefits, and others."

However, this mechanism will cease at the end of August with the launch of new companies, according to Al-Ghussein. 

"The labour ministry will deal with employer permits that are implemented by licensed companies only, and priority in nomination will be given to the names of workers who have passed the professional license exam supervised by the ministry," al-Ghousain explained. 

Manal Al-Hatta, the Director General of Public Relations and Media, in charge of talking about the companies licensing decision, said that this step sought to better monitor worker permits without exposing Palestinian workers to extortion and ensure workers obtain real job opportunities immediately after the issuance of his employer's permit, in addition to work to guarantee workers' rights.

About 18,500 workers from Gaza currently work in the occupied territories, of whom 12,000 work under economic needs permits. 

According to al-Hatta, the number of those registered on the Single Entry Program is estimated at 140,000, of whom 128,000 are on the waiting list.

Osama Kahil, the former head of the Contractors Syndicate and one of the most prominent applicants for obtaining an operating company license, told TNA that the company would be responsible before the government agencies in Gaza for the rights of workers and ensuring that they receive all their dues, including wages, end of service and compensation for damages.

"The permits of economic needs do not guarantee these matters or the employer's permits issued by brokers who practice all kinds of exploitation and extortion against the worker," Kahil said. 

To guarantee the worker's rights, the Kahil Company has contracted with consultants and lawyers inside the occupied territories to follow up on the files of its workers. 

According to Kahil, the company will deposit a financial guarantee with the Ministry of Labor in Gaza to be deducted from it for any affected worker. In contrast, the company seeks to collect the rights from the Israeli employer.

He said the worker would not bear any financial fees for submitting it to the company to obtain a work permit. He added that the company would receive its financial dues in exchange for providing the required labour from the Israeli employer without any financial burdens on the Palestinian worker.

In the past, around 120,000 Palestinians worked in Israeli cities in various sectors, including agriculture, construction, and automobile mechanics.

However, Israel banned the workers from Gaza from entering Israel for the first time in 2000 following the second intifada erupted, and it altogether banned all workers in 2005 when the Palestinian militants prisoned Jilaad Shalit. 

In 2007, Israel imposed its tightened blockade on the strip right after Islamist Hamas controlled the territory. Moreover, both Israel and Hamas were involved in various military wars. 

In October 2021, Israel allowed Palestinian workers from Gaza to apply for work permits in Israel for the first time since Hamas' takeover of Gaza in 2007. 

The Israeli unprecedented step resulted from indirect understandings with Hamas in 2019 to keep a ceasefire between the two parties in charge of improving the economic situation in the territory, home to more than 2.3 million people.