South Hebron Hills, Tarqumiya
The subject of the discussion today in Susiya: Workers from the Palestinian Authority working in Israel.
Construction workers who live in Yatta and work in Jerusalem, Ness Ziona and Ashdod, tell me about their daily routine:
Wake up at 2:30 AM
3:00 am, a minibus that takes them to the Tarqumiya checkpoint.
Time passes through the checkpoint between half an hour and an hour and a half. Sometimes only one or two portholes are open to the workers' crossing and cause a further delay.
Between 06:00 and 06:30 we wait for service taxis to take them to the construction sites.
The workers arrive at work between 08:30 and 09:00.
From the moment of waking until the beginning of the work, they undergo about 6 hours.
Returning home takes much less time two to three hours.
From time to time there are not enough service vehicles on the Israeli side for all the workers and they are forced to return home as they came.
The wages of a worker who succeeds in working with a contractor's approval range around NIS 400 per day.
A monthly permit costs NIS 2,000.
Transportation and food costs NIS 1,500.
Net salary: NIS 4,500.
A worker who receives a pay slip receives medical insurance.
sad