Since the start of the genocide in Gaza, Palestinian laborers working in the Israeli market have become a top target for Israel’s Civil and Economic Affairs Cabinet and the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Among a series of decisions taken by the Israeli government following October 7, 2023, was the cancellation of work permits for more than 140,000 Palestinian workers from the West Bank and Gaza. Additionally, thousands of these workers were illegally detained and transferred to detention centers. At the same time, the Israeli government began formal discussions with various Asian governments to recruit thousands of foreign workers to replace the Palestinian labor force.
This policy brief situates the Israeli government’s current actions against Palestinian workers within the broader historical context of the Zionist settler-colonial project’s relationship with Palestinian labor. It reveals a recurring pattern in which Israel summons, exploits, expels, or replaces the Palestinian workforce based on its needs. This calculated approach, as the brief argues, is designed to systematically dismantle Palestinian political, economic, and social structures, ultimately advancing the goal of Palestinian erasure.
https://al-shabaka.org/briefs/israels-exploitation-of-palestinian-labor-a-strategy-of-erasure/