Palestinians lost their last money: “70 percent worked in Israel”

Russians were taken out of the West Bank of Jordan in a roundabout way

Amid the Arab-Israeli conflict, Palestinians working in Israel have lost their income. A Russian woman who lives in the West Bank spoke about the situation.

Our interlocutor is Russian. She married a Palestinian and lives in the West Bank, 30 km from the Gaza Strip.

According to the interlocutor, the situation in Palestine is tense: “Everyone is frozen and waiting. We are tired of seeing and hearing what is happening in Gaza.

Everything works for us, children go to school. But many Palestinians will be left without money indefinitely, since 70 percent of the people from our city worked in Israel. For example, the same store owners brought goods from there, for which they paid customs duties to Israel. Israel kept part of this duty for itself, and gave part to the Palestinians.

The fact is that Palestine has a very limited budget. Sometimes a country receives donations from other countries. Therefore, work is not easy in Palestine. Doctors, teachers and police officers cannot always find a job. Moreover, for the last couple of years, state employees have been paid only 80 percent of their salaries.

—What do Palestinians do in Israel?

— Palestinians receive tasrikh, a special permit to work in Israel. They pay 2,500 shekels (75 thousand rubles) per month for it. They are mainly employed in construction sites. Some work as nurses and doctors.

Every day people went to the checkpoint at 4 am, crossed the border and returned home in the evening. They are prohibited from staying in Israel overnight, as well as from living there, renting an apartment, or trading in the market. Only local Palestinians with Israeli passports have this right.

— Do these people continue to work in Israel now?

— Mostly doctors go to work with passes. But it became difficult to move on the roads. Ordinary workers are currently prohibited from traveling. So many Palestinians lost their wages. But the owners of shops and agricultural greenhouses help those in need with food. The Palestinians are a united people and are quick to manage cities without any authority.

— Are you ready to accept refugees from Gaza?

“We would accept refugees, but no one will let them in.” It is dangerous to travel between cities.

—Can ordinary people leave Palestine to fly to another country?

— My parents recently visited me. We were worried that they wouldn’t be able to get out of here. On Sunday, they finally made their way to Israel through a roundabout route. But it was scary.

There is a checkpoint near us, but all roads to it were blocked. We tried to call seven taxi cars with Israeli license plates, but they all refused to go. As a result, the parents were taken along bypass roads to Bethlehem, where they asked for help from our embassy. They negotiated to be allowed through the checkpoint. Everything went smoothly. On Sunday they were already at the airport. Now they are flying to Russia.

Read the material “The checkpoint was not opened, the evacuation was cancelled”: a Russian woman found herself in a terrible situation in Gaza”