(Globes) Danny Zaken - Israel has issued 140,000 work permits to West Bank Palestinians - 100,000 to work in Israel and another 40,000 to work in industrial areas and Israeli communities in the West Bank. A construction worker with a permit is paid between NIS 5,500 and 8,000 a month, while an agricultural laborer with a permit usually receives the minimum wage. The average salary in the Palestinian Authority is only about NIS 1,800. At the same time, unemployment is high. In addition, 20,000 permits are issued to workers from Gaza. The recent terrorist attacks in Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv were by Palestinians who came from Jenin in the northern West Bank - a city whose economy is considered one of the most stable, a prosperous agricultural center, and a commercial center that has grown significantly over the last decade, with a growing number of factories selling to Israel and exporting internationally. Beginning in 2009, the city became a shopping hub for Israeli Arabs, who spend hundreds of millions of shekels there every year. The city had one large mall at the beginning of the previous decade; the number grew to 13 modern malls by the decade's end. In the wake of the attacks, Israel closed the border crossings to Israeli Arabs, a severe blow to the economy of Jenin and the northern West Bank.
2022-04-14 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive