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War in Gaza Wreaks Havoc on the West Bank's Economy
(Ha'aretz) Hagar Shezaf - Since the war in Gaza broke out and Israel barred Palestinians with work permits from entering Israel (with certain exceptions), many men have been stuck at home with no income. "There's no work and no income at all. You're in the house with the kids and your wife and asking yourself how you'll provide them with what they need," says Zuhair Abu Zahra, 27, a father of three. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, before the war, 160,000 Palestinians (19% of the workforce in the West Bank) worked in Israel and in Israeli communities. In January, 14,000 Palestinians were allowed entry to work in industrial zones and several vital industries. Unemployment in the West Bank climbed to 29% from 13% before the war. There's still the possibility of working in the Palestinian areas, but the local labor market has been flooded since the war started, depressing wages. Zuhair says, "I called somebody about a construction job in Hebron and was told that the pay would be 20 shekels a day." According to the Palestinian statistics office, the median wage for workers in the West Bank last year was 115 shekels per day, compared with 300 shekels in Israel.