Work in Israeli settlements means high risks, no safety net for Palestinian laborers
Most of the 36,000 Palestinians who work in Israeli settlements across the West Bank lack basic benefits including personal protection equipment and have little to no recourse when the worst happens.
Naser Qaswal is a 48-year-old Palestinian carpenter who worked for 25 years in the Eli Zahav settlement just outside of Kafr al-Dik in the occupied West Bank, northeast of Jerusalem. Until two years ago, Qaswal was the main breadwinner for his wife and five small children.
In 2017, hearing loss forced Qaswal to leave his job. He was completely deaf in one ear and with only 20% hearing in the other. He also suffered chronic lower back pain that prevents him from driving and standing more than an hour at a time. Both injuries were clearly work related — the result of his two and a half decades of work in Eli Zahav.
Since then, he has been struggling to find a lawyer to represent him in Israeli court as he fights for compensation from his settlement employers.
Qaswal is one of approximately 36,000 Palestinians working in Israeli settlements across the West Bank. Settlement construction thrives off systemic labor rights abuses of the Palestinian workers by denying proper wages, insurance and basic personal protection equipment, complain the workers and a handful of organizations who try to protect them.
