labor rights

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

Riad al-Gul holds a photo of his brother, Ziad, who died in a workplace accident in Israel. (Mohammed Zaanoun)

Unsupervised and unprotected, Gaza laborers suffer under permit regime

Thousands of Palestinians enter Israel every day from Gaza on permits that don’t cover medical care. When accidents occur, they have nowhere to turn.

By Mohammed Zaanoun August 25, 2023

Adla Ayad, a worker at the 'Mevashlim Bishvilech' factory in the industrial zone of the West Bank settlement of Mishor Adumim, seen during a workers solidarity meeting, December 5, 2019. (Activestills.org)

Exploited and underpaid, Palestinian women are fighting back in the workplace

Subject to below minimum wage jobs, no pay slips, and arbitrary layoffs in Israeli settlements, Palestinian women under occupation are learning more about their rights and are beginning to unionize.

By Judith Sudilovsky December 8, 2019

Latest

A May Day surprise for Palestinian workers at an Israeli checkpoint

Members of Knesset and labor activists from Hadash hand out flowers and workers’ rights pamphlets to Palestinian laborers as they exit an Israeli military checkpoint. Palestinian workers coming into Israel through the IDF’s Eyal checkpoint Thursday morning probably didn’t expect to be handed flowers by members of Knesset. But that’s exactly what happened at 5…

By Haggai Matar April 27, 2017

Palestinian construction workers in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, November 10, 2015. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Denying Palestinian laborers access to justice

A new Israeli labor regulation continues a trend of increasingly suspending rule of law for Palestinians in the West Bank, in this case leading to further segregation in access the courts. By Sawsan Zaher In the Israeli economy, dirty, difficult, and dangerous jobs often are left to some 170,000 foreign workers, among them 55,000 Palestinian workers from the West Bank.…

By +972 Magazine September 30, 2016

Employees at the Zarfati Garage in Mishur Adumim vote to strike on July 22, 2014. (Photo courtesy of Ma’an workers union)

How do you stop Palestinians unionizing? Cancel their entry permits

An Israeli employer of Palestinians inside a West Bank settlement, with the help of Israeli authorities, is exploiting the military permit regime in order stop his workers from unionizing, a High Court petition alleges. In order to sabotage the unionization of Palestinian workers, the owner of an Israeli car garage filed a false police complaint…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man September 15, 2014