abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Article

19 Oct 2023

Author:
Qassam Muaddi, The New Arab

OPT/Israel: Gaza's workers in Israel expelled to West Bank, with some reporting arrest and beatings by IDF, according to Palestinian NGOs

"Thousands of Palestinian Gaza workers were expelled to occupied West Bank by Israel"

Thousands of Palestinian workers from the Gaza Strip have been trapped in the occupied West Bank since the beginning of Israel's new war on Gaza after 7 October. The workers were forced by Israeli authorities to leave the 1948 territories to the occupied West Bank shortly after Hamas's unprecedented surprise attack that day.

The number of Palestinian workers from Gaza expelled to the occupied West Bank is still unknown. On Monday, 16 October, the Union of Arab Workers in Israel demanded that Israeli authorities give information about an estimated 18 thousand Gazans working in Israel when the escalation started...

Workers from Gaza who had Israeli working permits have been kicked out from their job with no wages, beaten up & had their money and phones stolen & left stranded at the military checkpoints, hundreds made it to Ramallah where they are being taken care by the residents...

"I was working near Ramleh in construction, and I had been working there, on and off, for a year and a half", a 51-year-old worker who asked not to be named, said to TNA.

"On Sunday night, Israeli police came to the apartment that several workers shared and told the workers to leave for the West Bank, but I wasn't in the apartment. Most workers left, but I and some others stayed," he said. "On Monday morning, the Israeli police came and arrested us. They took me to a police station in the same area of Ramleh, and I was beaten randomly during the arrest and the transfer to the police station"...

"They had beaten me so much that I couldn't stand, and people at the checkpoint helped me to the public transportation, who drove me to Ramallah", he added.

Upon arrival, the worker was informed that Israeli bombings on Jabalia killed six family members, including his brother and three nephews...

Hundreds of Palestinian workers from Gaza employed in Israel have been arriving in West Bank cities, esp. Ramallah, dazed, without belongings or money, & desperate to join their families. Some have been beaten & mistreated by Israeli police/border guards. Read more below. pic.twitter.com/iOmQ8RrhV2

— DWRC Palestine (@DWRCPalestine) October 12, 2023

...Some 200,000 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip usually work in the Israeli economy, meaning within Israel's 1948 boundaries or at illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank...

At the same time, Israeli forces and settlers have killed some 70 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Israeli settlers have also completely displaced at least two Palestinian communities near the Jordan Valley...

Timeline