labor law

Israeli Border Police detain Palestinians who attempted to enter Israel illegally after hiding in a van at a checkpoint north of Jerusalem, March 30, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Palestinians out, foreign workers in: How Israel is remaking its labor force

Long a cornerstone of Israel’s low-wage economy, Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza have been frozen out since October 7 — replaced by an influx of migrant workers in highly precarious conditions.

By Charlotte Ritz-Jack and Dana Mills May 6, 2026

Court denies equal rights to Palestinian workers in Israeli industrial zone

National Labor Court rules that unlike their fellow Israeli workers, Palestinians in a no-man’s land industrial zone will remain subject to the Jordanian labor laws of 1967. Israel’s National Labor Court rejected an appeal by Palestinian workers from the Nitzanei Shalom Industrial Zone this past Sunday, ruling that they will continue to be subject to the…

By Haggai Matar July 23, 2015

Migrant caretakers march for equal labor rights, Tel Aviv, January 4, 2014. (Photo: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

Denied basic labor rights, migrant caregivers take to the streets

The some 60,000 migrant workers who care for Israel’s elderly don’t receive the simplest of labor rights like overtime pay, guaranteed rest hours and vacation, are often locked into a form of debt bondage. By Jacob Udell While thousands of asylum seekers filled up Levinsky Park to organize a three-day general strike Saturday night, a…

By +972 Magazine January 5, 2014

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Palestinian youth working under precarious conditions below the minimum wage on plantations in the Jewish settlement of Ma'ale Efrayim, Jordan Valley, March 4th, 2009. (Photo: Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

Resource: No enforcement of labor law in the West Bank

A small group of Palestinian workers this summer received confirmation from the Jerusalem Regional Court that their rights are protected under Israeli labor law. Meanwhile, Israel’s Ministry of Economy is failing to proactively prevent such abuses. Kav LaOved has published a new report describing this situation, including a selective list of Israeli companies in the…

By +972 Resources October 31, 2013

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WATCH: Court rebukes state archeology body for labor abuse

When the Israel Antiquities Authority hired a manpower company to provide workers for its excavation sites, it ended up abusing the temporary workers’ rights by firing them after a number of months. The workers, however, went to court to demand they be hired as permanent employees — and won.

By Social TV May 26, 2013

Palestinians workers walk in the early morning next to the Wall and an Israeli military tower to cross the Eyal Israeli military checkpoint, November 2011 (photo: Activestills)

Palestinian employment: The phantom workers of Israel

An estimated 30,000 Palestinian laborers work in Israel without permits, in predominantly labor intensives jobs. Pay is poor, social rights are virtually nonexistent, and conditions in the workplace are often hazardous. A group of Palestinian workers tell their story from a construction site in Petah Tikva. By Alon Aviram “This place is a luxury penthouse” said…

By +972 Magazine December 7, 2012