Palestinian workers, who were stranded in Israel since the October 7 attacks, cross back into the Gaza Strip at the Kerem Shalom commercial border crossing with Israel in the south of the Palestinian enclave on November 3, 2023. AP
The decision comes amidst the current Israeli war on Gaza, with the territory being heavily bombarded since Hamas' 7 October Al-Aqsa Flood operation on the Gaza envelope.
These Palestinian workers had previously been granted permits to take jobs in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
Large numbers of workers returned to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, located east of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza.
Workers crossing into the Palestinian territory said they had been detained and ill-treated by Israeli authorities. Some still had plastic stickers carrying numbers around their legs.
They had been working in various sectors such as agriculture and construction, paid wages up to 10 times more than what they could earn in the blockaded Gaza Strip.
"We used to serve them, work for them, in houses, in restaurants, and in markets in return for the lowest wages, and despite that, we have now been humiliated," exclaimed Jamal Ismail, a worker from the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza.
Israel had previously issued over 18,000 permits allowing Gazans to cross into Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank for employment. However, the Israeli government has now abandoned this system, shifting its focus from economic incentives to an offensive aimed at eradicating the Hamas movement that controls Gaza.
"Israel is severing all contact with Gaza. There will be no more Palestinian workers from Gaza," stated a spokesperson from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, adding that those workers who were in Israel at the outbreak of the war would be sent back to the territory.
The exact number of Gazans who were in Israel on 7 October remains unclear, as does the number of detained individuals. However, a senior Palestinian Authority official stated that around 4,950 Gaza residents had fled to the West Bank from Israel, while approximately 5,000 were believed to be detained by Israeli authorities.
The ongoing war has taken a heavy toll on the people of Gaza, with Israeli bombings causing the deaths of more than 9,200 Palestinians, nearly half being children, according to Gaza health authorities.
The United Nations has reported that over 1.4 million people, out of Gaza's total population of approximately 2.3 million, have been displaced.
The expulsion of Palestinian workers has had a significant impact on the West Bank, where Palestinians who remain are struggling to obtain accurate information due to patchy internet and phone connections. Many workers relied on their phones to stay updated on their families' conditions back in Gaza.
Nidal Abu Jidian, a father of three who had been working as a road paver in Israel, sought refuge in a community center in the West Bank city of Ramallah. He shared his experience, stating, "I was on the phone with my uncle. He was shelled while I was talking to him. I was checking in on him and my children, and he was killed. I heard the strike. The phone went dead."
The expulsion of Palestinian workers has exacerbated the already dire situation in Gaza, where unemployment rates are among the highest in the world, with almost half of the population unemployed.
The strip has been under a strict blockade for nearly 17 years, severely restricting the movement of goods and people. The recent Israeli war has further deepened the humanitarian crisis, prompting urgent calls from humanitarian organizations for an immediate ceasefire.
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