Israeli group defends Palestinian laborers

Palestinian laborers are not only forced to wait for hours under the summer sun or the winter rain, they also have to pass by seven offices to obtain the necessary work permits before even reaching the checkpoints, said Machsom Watch activist Hannah Berg.

“Without those papers, they cannot even think of crossing the checkpoint,” she told Al Arabiya. “They go through hell to get them.”

Workers can never be sure how much time it will take them to cross to the other side, so they have to come early.

“They can’t risk it. If they are late, they will not only lose the day’s wage, but the whole job. Israeli employers are very inflexible.”

The Qalqiliya checkpoint, which crosses to Israel through the Eyal terminal, serves as the best example for the daily ordeal Palestinian laborers go through in order to move to and from Israel, Berg explained.

Flocks of workers

More than 3,000 Palestinians, 5,000 according to other estimates, cross to Israel through Qalqiliya and their number can reach up to 6,000 or 7,000 on Sundays.

“They start flocking to the checkpoint at 2:00 am to make sure they arrive at work before their employers on the Israeli side. In fact, Israeli authorities do not allow anyone to cross before 4:00 am, but laborers come two hours early because procedures and paper work take a long time, especially with such big numbers.”

Some workers even need to arrive earlier if they do not live in the city of Qalqiliya.

“Another problem is that Palestinian laborers have to go back to West Bank on the same day, especially after Israeli authorities started using magnetic cards for in and out crossing.”

In addition to the daily procedures Palestinians have to go through, Berg added, they face other problems that usually depend on the whims of Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint.

One time soldiers did not allow a worker to enter with his cooked chicken lunch, another time because of an okra meal and so forth. The pretext is always that they cannot allow Palestinians to sell food inside Israel.

“This is ridiculous! Who inside Israel would want to buy a cooked chicken from a Palestinian worker? They take this food to eat during their work day.”

Inhumane treatment

Berg explained that a private company is currently managing the checkpoints after winning a bid put in by the Israeli Ministry of Internal Security. Therefore, there is no authority where complaints can be submitted.

“A company like that feels it owes no explanation to human rights organizations for inhumane treatment.”

Berg added that even the work of Machsom Watch could be interrupted by the Israeli authorities at any time.

“But we will never give up. We will keep struggling till all the checkpoints are removed,” Berg concluded.

Workers who have to cross on daily basis file numerous complaints about the suffering they endure, said Khaled Gibril, head of the Qalqiliya branch of the Public Service Trade Union, part of the Palestinian General Federation for Trade Unions.

“The North Qalqiliya checkpoint does not only serve Qalqiliya, but the entire northern part of the West bank,” he told Al Arabiya. “An average of 5,000 workers need to cross before 6:00 am and some of them wait for more than three hours.”

Many problems arise due to the large numbers of workers overcrowding the checkpoint. Stampedes often occur and many sustain injuries.

The union has taken several measures to try and help the worker's pleas but there is still more to be done.

“A few months ago, we started organizing workers in lines to avoid stampeding and we erected many canopies to protect them from the heat and the rain, but they can only accommodate 10 percent of them.”

Despite efforts on the Palestinian side to make the waiting process easier for workers, nothing is being done for them on the Israeli side.

“Nothing protects them on the other side. After crossing, they have to wait in the heat or the cold for almost an hour till a car comes to pick them up.”

Some drivers take advantage of the situation and charge them more and transfer them in extremely inhumane conditions.

“They stuff 18 of them in a car that takes eight and they end up like sardines in a can.”

(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid).