Palestinian labor unions blame Israel instead of Hamas for Palestinian laborers’ loss of income since Oct. 7
General Association of Palestinian Labor Unions:
"Tens of thousands of laborers lost their workplaces" in Israel
"The losses… are estimated at 1.25 billion shekels (just under $345 million -Ed.) per month"
Hamas' Oct. 7 war on Israel has proved costly for Palestinians. According to the General Association of Palestinian Labor Unions' annual report for 2024, most of the 215,000 Palestinian laborers who worked within Israel before the war have lost their workplaces.
But in keeping with PA ideology, the labor unions blame Israel for this, and not Hamas and its invasion and massacre in Israel, which forced Israel to restrict the entrance of Palestinians to keep its own citizens safe:
"The status of the [Palestinian] laborers is now in a serious situation, especially after tens of thousands of laborers lost their workplaces within the 1948 territories (i.e., Israel) due to the restrictions that Israel has imposed on the laborers' access to the workplaces."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 1, 2025]
Stressing aspects of the labor unions' report the official PA daily did not explain that Israel did this for necessary security reasons. Israel knows from bitter experience that Palestinian laborers can turn out to be murderous terrorists. Palestinian Media Watch exposed that one Palestinian laborer, who was among 45,000 Palestinian illegals smuggled into Israel, murdered two Israelis in 2024. Many other laborers from the Gaza Strip actively participated in gathering intel for Hamas that was used with deadly effect in its Oct. 7 massacre.
The Palestinian labor unions further stated that "the losses of the laborers in the 1948 territories due to the cessation of their work are estimated at 1.25 billion shekels (i.e., just under $345 million) per month."
A Palestinian laborer quoted in the report corroborated what PMW has documented in the past – that Palestinians earn better wages in Israel than in the PA:
"Laborer Sami Daraghmeh explained: ‘There are laborers who used to make about 20,000 shekels (over $5,500 -Ed.) a month [in Israel],' and now their income is tiny or they barely work."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 1, 2025]
The following are some of PMW's reports showing that Palestinian laborers prefer working in Israel not only because they are paid more, but also because they enjoy workers' rights and better conditions:
Palestinians prefer to work in Israel rather than PA due to higher salaries, better conditions, and benefits (2022)
14% of Palestinians with jobs work in Israel due to "the low salary in Palestine and the high salary in Israel," as well as workers' rights and benefits only available in Israel (2022)
Income increased 95% for Palestinians employed by Israelis; only 30% for Palestinians employed by Palestinians (2020)
Palestinians prefer to work for Israeli employers – they may be hurt most by the UN's blacklist (2020)
Palestinian worker: Double salary draws Palestinian workers to Israel; in the PA they suffer exploitation (2016)
Palestinians working for Israelis are paid double those working for Palestinians (2015)
Official PA daily lauds Israel's treatment of Palestinian workers (2014)
In addition to the lower wages in the PA, Palestinian labor unions have also reported that Palestinians suffer from unethical Palestinian employers who don't pay them their entire salary:
Palestinian employers use tricks to pay only 1/2 - 1/3 of minimum wage, reveals trade union leader (2021)
It should be noted that reporting on the findings of the labor unions, the official PA daily refused to mention Israel by name. Instead, it wrote that "laborers lost their workplaces within the 1948 territories." Every time Israel should be mentioned, the PA daily used its euphemism "the 1948 territories" instead. As PMW has reported, the PA adamantly rejects Israel's right to exist in any borders, and so Israel is referred to as "Palestine that was occupied by Israel in 1948," or in short - the 1948 territories."
The following is a longer excerpt of the report cited above:
"The status of the [Palestinian] laborers is now in a serious situation, especially after tens of thousands of laborers lost their workplaces within the 1948 territories (i.e., Israel) due to the restrictions that Israel has imposed on the laborers' access to the workplaces (i.e., Israeli security measures during Hamas' Oct. 7 war on Israel; see note below -Ed.).
Civilian Sami Daraghmeh, one of these laborers, says he previously worked within the 1948 territories and his monthly income exceeded 8,000 [Israeli] shekels (over $2,200 -Ed.), but after October 2023 (i.e., Hamas' invasion and massacre ), he began working [only] one or two days a week.
The annual report for 2024 regarding the conditions of the Palestinian laborers, which was published by the General Association of Palestinian Labor Unions, indicates that approximately 215,000 laborers worked in the 1948 territories, and the overwhelming majority of them are now unemployed…
Official data, which was published by the General Association of Palestinian Labor Unions, indicates that the losses of the laborers in the 1948 territories due to the cessation of their work are estimated at 1.25 billion shekels (just under $345 million -Ed.) per month.
Laborer Sami Daraghmeh explained: ‘There are laborers who used to make about 20,000 shekels (over $5,500 -Ed.) a month,' and now their income is tiny or they barely work intermittently."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 1, 2025]