JABALIYA, Gaza Strip — Gazan workers are still trying to look for new work opportunities to relieve the unemployment crisis and the dire economic situation as a result of the Israeli blockade that has been going on for eight years. This time, however, their search for work is inside Israel and in a legal way. Some Palestinian workers have entered Israel through permits granted only to traders.
Officials with the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) told Al-Monitor that nearly 200,000 unemployed workers in Gaza, following last summer’s war, pinned their hopes on obtaining work permits to enter Israel after Israel issued a statement a month after the war about providing humanitarian opportunities for Gazans. This included permits for 5,000 workers. However, these dreams faded away as the Israeli authorities allowed the issuance of “work” permits for traders only.