Should we keep Palestinian workers out of Israel? - comment

Ashraf Naalowa arrived at the Alon Group Recycling Factory on October 7, where he worked as an electrician, shortly after 7:30 a.m. He had an M-16 rifle under his clothes and entered the Barkan industrial zone with his legal work permit.

He went upstairs to fix an electrical malfunction on the second floor. Then he went back downstairs, drew his weapon, and murdered two Israelis, one of whom was a 28-year-old mother from Rosh Ha’ayin.

The attack five years ago to the day of the Hamas massacre has regained significance as the nation debates whether to reissue work permits to Palestinians from the West Bank.

Before the October 7 massacre, approximately 150,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and nearly 18,000 from Gaza held permits allowing them legal entry into Israel to work.

According to a 2022 report from the US State Department, the average daily wage in the West Bank stands at $32, while in Gaza, it is $13 – markedly lower than the $82 average wage in Israel.

These Palestinians were primarily employed in jobs like construction and agriculture. With the current restriction on their ability to enter Israel for work and the departure of a significant number of Thai farmhands who fled Israel after the attack, there is now a critical shortage of laborers in the agricultural and other sectors.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advocated for the admission of workers into the country under enhanced security measures. However, earlier this week, the 15-member socioeconomic cabinet, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, voted against the proposal. Reports indicating opposition from certain cabinet ministers prompted the prime minister to abstain from voting in the security cabinet.

Economy Minister Nir Barkat was among those who opposed reissuing the permits – likely the first time that Smotrich and Barkat agreed on anything regarding the economy since the government was formed in December 2022.

“Reality changed on October 7, and unfortunately, there are those who do not acknowledge it,” Barkat said. “The days when Israel would be dependent on the working hands of Palestinian laborers are over.”

The minister said that he has been working on enabling the entry of tens of thousands of non-Palestinian workers that would allow the Israeli economy to thrive without relying on Palestinians.

“Anyone who thinks that buying quiet by giving money to the Palestinians has not learned the lessons of that Black Shabbat,” Barkat warned. “It is forbidden to give any gifts to the Palestinians.”

The problems and benefits of reissuing work permits to West Bank Palestinians

SUPPORTERS OF reissuing the permits argue that Israel needs these workers to help bolster its economy, specifically given the cost of the Israel-Hamas war. Moreover, some security officials have said that enabling Palestinians to work in Israel will contribute to their economic satisfaction and stability, potentially reducing the likelihood of uprisings against Israel. 

However, the October 7 Hamas attack should raise questions about these premises. The event occurred during a period when Israel was already admitting a substantial number of Gazan workers. There were considerations to increase this number by an additional 5,000, aiming to preserve calm on the border and help facilitate progress in normalization talks with Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi deal would have required Israel to allow even more Palestinians to work in the country. However, US President Joe Biden has insisted that blocking a Saudi-Israel deal was one of Hamas’s motivations when it launched its attack.

Furthermore, the IDF reported discovering detailed plans for specific attacks on the bodies of Hamas terrorists killed within the country. These plans included maps of various kibbutzim, and the attackers possessed knowledge of residents living in specific houses. This suggests the presence of inside sources, likely Gazan workers.

The Guardian, citing an anonymous Israeli Intelligence source, reported the existence of a highly detailed map of an Israeli military base, surpassing the level of detail deemed necessary by the IDF itself.

According to the intelligence source in the report, the compilation of such a map “could only have been done using ‘inside knowledge’ – almost certainly from a Hamas spy.”

Israeli security sources said that Hamas had plans to infiltrate farther into Israel and eventually reach the West Bank. And at least one senior member of Hamas’s political bureau, Ghazi Hamad, has said that if given the chance, Hamas would repeat similar assaults many times until Israel is exterminated.

“We must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do it twice and thrice,” Hamad told Lebanese TV channel LBC in a video translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

“Money and building permits do not buy peace,” Smotrich insisted on Sunday. “Anyone who killed us when there was no money will kill us also when there is money.”

Many of the Palestinians in the West Bank cheered on the Hamas terrorists on October 7. Just hours after Hamas invaded southern Israel, Palestinians took to the streets in jubilation.

MEMRI published a video from Al Jazeera of celebrations in Nablus, Jenin, and Bethlehem. Lebanon’s Mayadeen TV showed a clip of Palestinians in the West Bank handing out sweets.

A survey released last month by Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD) in Ramallah showed that 68% of Palestinians living in the West Bank were supportive of the Oct. 7 massacre.

Hamas received a 76% approval rating in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, according to the same poll.

And multiple reports over the last two years have indicated that popular support for “armed resistance” has increased across the West Bank.

It is imperative for Israel to refrain from imposing collective punishment on the Palestinian people. There should be a future scenario where Palestinians can safely enter the country for work, emergency medical care, and other necessities. 

However, as articulated by Smotrich, the current priority should remain clear: “The security of the citizens of Israel comes first.”

The writer is deputy CEO – strategy and innovation for The Jerusalem Post and a senior correspondent. She also co-hosts the Inside Israeli Innovation podcast.