Palestinian workers in Israel face more restrictions amid coronavirus outbreak
The Palestinian government in the West Bank has escalated its precautionary measures on Palestinian workers returning from Israel in order to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — In order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the Palestinian government in the West Bank has been taking tighter precautionary measures for Palestinian workers returning from their workplaces in Israel. However, many of those laborers preferred to stay in Israel for weeks to protect the sources of their livelihoods and to prevent the possible infection of relatives in the West Bank. This comes as the government announced March 25 the first coronavirus death in the West Bank, of a woman who caught it from her son who works in Israel.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh demanded March 24 that all Palestinians working in Israel return home in light of the increasing number of infection cases in Israel. As of April 2, 6,808 cases of infections had been recorded in Israel, with 34 deaths. Meanwhile, 160 cases had been confirmed in Palestine after 15 Palestinian workers returning from Israel tested positive April 1; 12 of the 160 cases were recorded in the Gaza Strip.
Abu Fadi from Gaza is a construction worker in Israel who decided to stay there. He told Al-Monitor, “My Israeli employer promised [to give me a] suitable place to sleep so I can stay in Israel. But I was sleeping in the workplace, so I rented an apartment with my other friends … to complete my daily work”
He added, “My employer is afraid of being infected with COVID-19; he stopped coming to the workplace and bringing us food."
