A year of war in the Gaza Strip has reverberated across the West Bank, where the World Bank warns the economy is at risk of collapse because of Israeli restrictions barring Palestinian laborers from entering the country to work and the biggest wave of violence in decades.
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“When we reach the point where you see that your children do not have food,” he said, “the barrier of fear is broken.”Unemployment has skyrocketed, reaching 30% from around 12% before the war. The past year, some 300,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, many of whom worked in Israel, have lost their jobs, the Palestinian Economy Ministry says. Over the first quarter of 2024, the territory’s economy contracted by 25%, according to the World Bank.
“These people are being shot at trying to go to work,” said Assaf Adiv, director of MAAN, a worker’s association that focuses on Palestinian labor rights.Before the war, some 150,000 Palestinians from the West Bank were crossing legally every day into Israel to work, mainly in construction, manufacturing and agriculture.Israel on Oct. 7, Israeli authorities barred entry to most Palestinians, saying it was necessary for security. Tens of thousands of Palestinians became jobless overnight.
The Israeli military told the AP it couldn't comment on the shooting without specific coordinates of where relatives said it happened. Vehicles can wait for hours as soldiers inspect everyone, unlike before the war, when many were waved through. Other roads are shut off completely. In one case, the army closed a road linking 12 villages to the southern town of Dura, said local activist Badawi Jawaed. Many workers couldn’t reach their jobs and were laid off, he said.
Many climb over with ladders and ropes. Others hide in trucks that pass through checkpoints. Some slip through holes in fencing, workers and experts said.
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