Palestinian workers

Palestinians use a rope to climb over the separation barrier from the al-Ram village into East Jerusalem, January 12, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The Palestinians dying for work

Israel shut its borders to West Bank laborers after Oct. 7. But desperation means thousands are finding a way in — and Israeli police keep shooting them.

By Charlotte Ritz-Jack June 12, 2026

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

Israeli soldiers from the 8717 Battalion of the Givati Brigade operating in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, December 28, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A Gaza team went to repair a telecoms machine. An Israeli tank fired at them

In January, Israeli soldiers attacked a convoy of Paltel technicians in Khan Younis, killing two. Contrary to the army’s account, an investigation shows the workers coordinated every step of the journey along an approved route.

By Yuval Abraham May 1, 2024

Latest

Hashim al-Birawi. (Courtesy)

A Gazan worked in Israeli kibbutzim for decades. Then came Oct. 7

Among the victims of Hamas' massacres in southern Israel were several Palestinian laborers from the Gaza Strip. Here is one of those stories.

By Yuval Abraham November 6, 2023

Palestinian workers in line to receive COVID-19 vaccinations at the Qalqilya checkpoint, the West Bank. (Activestills)

In a year of pandemic, Palestinian workers grapple with a virus and an occupier

Six Palestinian workers share how the COVID-19 crisis has affected their livelihoods while navigating Israeli checkpoints, permits, and restrictions.

By Activestills July 8, 2021

Illustrative photo of Palestinian workers from the West Bank crossing a checkpoint into Israel. (Flash90)

JNF illegally fired and discriminated against Palestinian workers, court rules

Tel Aviv court rules JNF must rehire 10 Palestinian workers excluded from collective bargaining agreement and dismissed for living in the West Bank.

By Orly Noy March 17, 2021

A Palestinian worker is vaccinated at a makeshift vaccine site at the Metar checkpoint in the southern West Bank, March 8. (Oren Ziv)

Following pressure, Israel begins vaccination drive for Palestinian workers

Thousands of Palestinian workers arrived at West Bank checkpoints to receive jabs following criticism of Israel's refusal to provide them COVID-19 vaccines.

By Oren Ziv March 9, 2021

Palestinian workers from the West Bank city of Hebron carry personal belongings as they arrive to cross to Israel at a checkpoint in Tarqumiya, March 18, 2020. Photo by Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90

‘The moment a worker is sick, they throw him to the checkpoint like a dog’

Palestinian laborers suspected of having coronavirus are being dropped off at a West Bank checkpoint with no regard for their health or safety.

By Suha Arraf March 24, 2020

Israeli Border Police officers check a men near the scene of a stabbing attack at Jerusalem's central bus station, December 10, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The casual racism of war-time Israel

Trauma and racism are an inescapable part of Israeli society, especially on days when the drums of war are beating. The bike ride along the outdoor platform of Tel Aviv’s central bus station takes about a minute north to south. The area, long neglected by the city, has become home to junkies, sex workers, the…

By Edo Konrad November 13, 2018

A Palestinian worker waits to cross Qalandiya checkpoint between the West Bank city of Ramallah and East Jerusalem, during the early hours of February 25, 2016. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Forget BDS: Denied entry to Israel, just because of a last name

Over the past two years, the Israeli army has revoked Palestinian workers’ permits to enter Israel simply because they share a last name with someone who carried out a violent attack against Israelis. The move has already dealt a severe blow to over 2,000 workers in the West Bank, many of whom have been working inside Israel…

By Social TV September 26, 2018

Illustrative photo of Sodastram workers in Israel. (Flash90)

‘Sodastream workers allege being threatened over unionizing attempts’

According to a lawsuit filed by Israel’s largest labor union, Sodastream workers who tried to organize reported being harassed by the company’s management. Sodastream denies the allegations. Israel’s major worker’s federation filed a NIS 15 million lawsuit against Sodastream this past month, claiming that the company attempted to disrupt workers’ attempts to organize. The story hit the…

By Haggai Matar June 17, 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

Illustrative photo of Palestinian workers in Israel. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

For Washington Post, cheap labor is key to Mideast peace

A recent article in ‘The Washington Post’ praises efforts by the Israeli government to bring in cheap labor from Jordan as a sign of growing peace. The problem? It all comes at the expense of Palestinian workers. By Hagar Shezaf A Washington Post article published earlier this week praised a new pilot project between the…

By +972 Magazine May 19, 2016