Two characteristics distinguish Palestinians originating
from the Occupied Territories and working in Israel from
foreign workers in Europe or North America, and even from
the other foreign workers in Israel. Firstly, most of the
workers from the Occupied Territories return at the end of
the workday to their homes in the Occupied Territories. The
personal tragedy faced by many families of foreign workers
is not a feature in the case of Palestinians.
Secondly, the phenomenon of Palestinian workers in Israel
resulted from a prolonged occupation that is still in force,
and has as its background a lengthy ethnic-nationalistic
struggle. This struggle has been characterized by
extensive Israeli oppression of Palestinians and by
Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens. This
history has led to a more difficult situation for Palestinian
workers in Israel than for other foreign workers.
The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has led in several
areas to a significant decrease in Israeli violations of
Palestinian human rights in the Occupied Territories. The
principal reason for this improvement is the reduction in
daily contact between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and
the Palestinian population following the military’s
withdrawal from Palestinian population centers. However,
the situation of Palestinian workers employed in Israel
and the settlements is one area in which the peace
process has not led to significant improvement. Most
violations that occurred prior to the Oslo Accords in the
area of social rights and terms of employment, as well as
the violations committed by the security forces, continued
afterwards. In some aspects, the situation has even
worsened.
Palestinians from the Occupied Territories employed
within Israel come into daily contact with Israeli security
forces when crossing the checkpoints between Israel
and the Occupied Territories. Testimonies gathered by
B’Tselem indicate that this contact often involves
violence against the workers.
Frequently, security force
personnel will slap, kick or insult Palestinians, or make
them wait without reason under the blazing sun. At
times, extreme violence has been reported, ranging
from beatings that led to severe injury to the shooting of
a motor vehicle that caused the death of a worker. Most
of the «light» abuse remains unreported, either because
of the fear of filing a complaint or because of the
difficulties involved in doing so.
The victims of violence are generally «unregistered»
workers i.e. Palestinians who do not meet the criteria for
obtaining a work permit and are compelled, because of
economic hardship and high unemployment in the
Occupied Territories, to enter Israel illegally to support
themselves and their families. Violence by security forces
against Palestinians increases significantly during total
closures, when Israel prohibits entry of all Palestinians
into Israel. In most cases, the Border Police are
responsible for the arbitrary and unjustified use of
violence. It appears that violence is used to deter
Palestinians from violating the closure and from entering
Israel illegally in order to work.
The use of violence by security forces against Palestinians
(primarily workers at checkpoints) is not new or unknown.
In most cases, security force commanders as well as the
political echelon, decry the phenomenon and express
their readiness to take action to eliminate it. However, the
large number of complaints and the severity of the acts
reported show that the efforts to improve the situation
are few and insufficient, and that the «readiness to
improve the situation» is nothing but lip service.
Information and testimonies gathered by B’Tselem
indicate another grave phenomenon that constitutes a
violation of basic rights of Palestinians working in Israel:
the General Security Service uses its authority to revoke
Palestinian workers’ work permits and magnetic cards.
This is a means of compelling them to cooperate with the
GSS and provide information. Coercion or pressure of any
kind to compel protected persons to aid the Occupying
Power is explicitly and totally forbidden under articles 31
and 51 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
In its efforts to recruit collaborators, the GSS particularly
targets Palestinians from the Gaza Strip employed in
Israel.
The effectiveness of the pressure to collaborate
results from two factors. Firstly, workers and their families
are highly dependent on income generated in Israel. This
is because of the economic hardship and high
unemployment in the Gaza Strip, where approximately
forty percent of Palestinians live in poverty. Secondly,
workers from the Gaza Strip are more dependent on
obtaining a permit, because the border between the Gaza
Strip and Israel is closed more effectively. Palestinians
from the West find it easier to cross their border and enter
Israel "illegally."
In the area of social rights and terms of employment,
Palestinians working in Israel and the settlements are
oppressed and discriminated against in a variety of ways.
Palestinian workers are one of the weakest sectors of the
Israeli labor force. They are therefore an easy target for
exploitation and oppression by private employers.
One of the most common ways for Israeli employers
to lower their expenditures at the expense of their
Palestinian employees is to file false reports to the
Payments Section of the Employment Service (through
which Palestinian workers receive their wages) relating to
the number of days worked by their Palestinian
employees. The difference between the number of
workdays reported and the number of days actually
worked is paid by the employer directly to the worker in
cash. In this manner, the employers do not pay for social
benefits (for pension, national insurance, convalescent
payments, and the like) on the full amount of wages. In
addition, the absence of precise registration at the
Employment Service affects the ability of Palestinians to
exercise all their rights in the labour courts, since it is
difficult for them to prove the amount of days they have
worked and the wages they have received. The low level
of supervision of employers’ reports by the Employment
Service contributes to the frequency of this practice.
Israel’s restrictions on Palestinians’ freedom of
movement directly and indirectly prejudice the rights of
Palestinian workers employed in Israel.
The primary harm inherent in the imposition of total closures of the Occupied Territories is the loss of workdays and resultant dismissals (often without providing severance pay)
through workers not being able to reach their jobs. While
total closures are justified as essential security
measures, the contribution of a total closure to national
security is questioned by many security officials. Because
of the difficulty in obtaining entry permits, total closures
indirectly affect Palestinian workers’ ability to exercise
their social rights in filing legal suits. Without entry
permits, the workers have problems meeting with their
attorneys, undergoing medical examinations by the
National Insurance Institute, appearing at hearings of the
labour court and the like.
Palestinian workers employed in Israel have been
oppressed since the beginning of the occupation in matters
related to «social insurance.» Prior to the beginning of the
Oslo Process, most of the money deducted from
Palestinians’ wages for «national insurance» flowed into the
State Treasury. Although the percentage of moneys
deducted from Palestinians’ wages for this item was
identical to that deducted from Israeli workers, Palestinians
benefited only from insurance for work-related accidents
and bankruptcy of employers. They were denied other
national insurance benefits, such as unemployment
payments, supplementary income benefits, the old-age
allotment, children’s allotment, disability allotment, and
nursing care. The money collected for these additional
benefits prior to the Oslo process - called «the equalization
levy» - is held by the Israeli Finance Ministry in a bank
account.
The Finance Ministry is supposed to transfer the
equalization levy to the Palestinian Authority so that the
latter can supply social insurance. Now, five years since the
signing of the agreement, the PA has still not established
an institution that can allocate the funds. In the meantime,
Palestinians working in Israel continue to pay national
insurance without receiving anything in exchange.
Palestinian workers employed in the settlements and
industrial zones in the Occupied Territories are exploited
more than their counterparts working within Israel.
Despite a military order requiring payment of the Israeli
minimum wage, Palestinians working in the settlements
usually receive less than the minimum wage. The Civil
Administration does not enforce the minimum wage order.
Israel’s Attorney General recently gave legal sanction to
discrimination between Palestinians and Israelis working
in settlements by submitting an opinion that the rights of
Palestinian workers are governed by Jordan’s antiquated
law, while those of Israeli workers at the same work-site
are governed by Israel’s more modern laws.
Palestinian workers who sue their employers in Israeli
labour courts are required to deposit substantial
monetary guaranties to ensure payment of legal costs in
the event of their losing their cases. Israeli workers and
employers are not required to deposit such guaranties.
The requirement is imposed on Palestinian workers
because of their status as foreign residents; it is feared
they will evade paying a court order for costs. The
guaranty, which may reach NIS 5,000 or higher, is often
the factor that prevents Palestinian workers from
accessing the last remedy available to protect their rights.
The Israeli component of the Israeli-Palestinian Joint
Committee on Labour Matters proposed a solution to the
problem, but the PA rejected it outright in utter disregard
for the rights of Palestinian workers in Israel.
The international community repeatedly affirms that all
human rights are interconnected, inter-dependent,
indivisible, and of equal importance in safeguarding
human dignity. The experience of Palestinian workers in
Israel and the settlements demonstrates the inherent
connection between civil, political, economic, and social
rights. The desire to make a living with dignity exposes
Palestinian workers to violence and the infringement of
their social rights. In both cases, their dignity as human
beings is harmed. Israel, as well as the Palestinian
Authority, is responsible for the violations.
At the commencement of the discussion on the final
status of the Occupied Territories, the two parties should
place individuals, their basic needs and their rights as a
central consideration in formulating the agreement. One
problem that requires attention is the myriad violations of
the rights of Palestinian workers in Israel and the
settlements. History and logic teach that oppression and
discrimination are a quagmire and incapable of leading to
peace and reconciliation between peoples.
By Yehezkel Lein