Palestinians working in Israel or in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria are paid more than double the wage earned by those employed in PA-governed areas.
A survey conducted by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) during October-December 2014, funded by the European Union (EU), shows that Palestinians who work in Israel or for Israelis, are paid more than double the wage of those employed in the Palestinian Authority (PA)-governed areas of Judea and Samaria, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) reports.
When working in Israel, including Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, a Palestinian makes on average a daily wage of 194.2 shekels, while those working in the PA-run areas earn only 91.4 shekels a day. The average wage for Palestinians working for Israelis is triple that of those employed in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, who make only 66.1 shekels daily.
These findings are not news among Palestinians. Israelis are known to pay more to their employees, Jews and Arabs, as well as offer full social benefits, according to Israeli law.
The difference is so profound that the official PA media was compelled to laud the Israelis for their comparatively good treatment of their Palestinian workers.
Israelis and Palestinians work side by side at SodaStream. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
The article, published in September by the PA official daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, explains that Palestinian workers get their full rights when employed by Israelis directly.
“The only cases in which a Palestinian worker does not receive the salary his Israeli [employer] determined for him, are those cases in which the middleman is Palestinian,” Al-Hayat Al-Jadida wrote.
However, “whenever Palestinian workers have the opportunity to work for Israeli employers, they are quick to quit their jobs with their Palestinian employers – for reasons having to do with salaries and other rights…. The [Israeli] working conditions are very good and include transportation, medical insurance and pensions. These things do not exist with Palestinian employers,” the PA daily pointed out.
Israeli treatment of its Palestinian employees has been praised by other media outlets.
The Al-Hura Arab language TV network ran a segment in 2014 on unemployment in the Palestinian Authority. Part of the presentation focused on Palestinians employed by Israeli-owned factories in Judea and Samaria that are constantly under the threat of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), especially by countries from the European Union.
A Palestinian employee at the Barkan Industrial Park in Samaria told the Al-Hura reporter: “Living is expensive and the financial state is very difficult. There are places of employment that do not pay you in the end. Here, I work and get paid every month with no problems.”
The reporter added that the economic situation in the PA territories is dire and that Israeli businesses that employ Palestinian workers help alleviate unemployment in the PA.
By: Aryeh Savir
Staff Writer, United with Israel