Palestinian Workers in Israeli Settlements: Their Status and Rights

Abstract

After the establishment of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 1993, the economic situation in the West Bank (WB) and Gaza Strip (GS) became difficult because of the absence of an efficient economic system and complete reliance on foreign funds. One result of that hardship was the tendency of Palestinian workers, who could not find jobs in the WB, to move to the Israeli Occupying Authority’s (IOA) settlements in the WB seeking employment opportunities there. The Palestinian workers in these settlements consist of two types: first, legal workers with Israeli permits to get there, and second, illegal workers smuggled into these Settlements. In 2011, 25,000 Palestinians were working in IOA settlements in the WB; 10,000 of them were smuggled workers. In fact, the IOA was benefitting a lot from both types of workers. The economic, governmental committee of the IOA stated that Palestinian workers were helping both the Israeli economy and Israeli employers. This paper analyzes the economic situation in the WB and the reasons for the unique treatment meted out to the Palestinians by the IOA. Next, it defines the status of the Palestinian legal workers and their rights according to the applied laws, and the violations of these rights by the Israeli employers. Lastly, it analyzes the status of illegal Palestinian workers and their rights according to the applied laws, and the violations of these rights by the Israeli employers.