Haitham S.
Ever since the
beginning of Israel’s assault on Gaza in October 2023, Palestinians in the
occupied West Bank have been suffering from an acute unemployment crisis. In
the first six months of the war, the unemployment rate nearly tripled, with
over 300,000 workers losing their main source of income.
Israeli settlers harass Palestinian residents of Khirbet Zanuta, South Hebron Hills, occupied West Bank. (Oren Ziv)
Over half of
those people were working inside Israel until the authorities revoked their
work permits following the Hamas attack of October 7. Palestinian workers have
repeatedly demanded that their permits to enter Israel be reissued so they can
provide for their children and live a decent life, but their requests have so
far been denied.
In my village of
Umm Al-Khair in the South Hebron Hills, most families no longer have any source
of income. On top of a frightening uptick in settler attacks and home
demolitions in our community, most residents now find themselves in financial
ruin. Already well into the second year of this reality, we are still without
solutions or adequate financial assistance.
Historically,
our community subsisted on shepherding and agricultural farming. But over the
years, the expansion of the Jewish settlement of Carmel — which seized half of
the village’s land when it was established in 1980 — and violence from Israeli
settlers and soldiers have rendered the vast majority of our land inaccessible.
Forced to find alternative sources of income, many young men in the community
began working as laborers inside Israel — until the war put a stop to that.
Ahmed Hathaleen,
a 29-year-old laborer who worked at Israeli construction sites before the war,
has been unemployed for over 16 months now. He suffered a severe work injury in
August 2023, which required him to undergo surgery in an Israeli hospital to have
one of his fingers amputated. By the time his wounds had healed, the war had
started and Israel had revoked his work permit.
With no other
income to support his family, Ahmed has been forced to ask friends for money,
which causes him to feel embarrassed and ashamed. But, he says, he has no
choice: “I am the father of two children: Khaled, who is 2 and a half years
old, and Majed, who is 10 months old. I was blessed with Majed in the first
months of the war. At these ages, my children need a lot of care, and my
inability to work makes it extremely difficult to provide basic necessities for
them.”
To make matters
worse, Ahmed receives daily messages and calls from the Israeli hospital where
he underwent the operation, reminding him to pay the debt he incurred from
necessary follow-up appointments in the months after his surgery. The hospital
has given him an ultimatum: pay the outstanding balance or they will transfer
his file to the Israeli courts, which will cause him to incur additional costs
in the form of lawyer fees and late-payment fines.
“I currently
have nothing,” Ahmed lamented. “I owe many friends money that I borrowed to
support my family and children, and I owe the hospital a sum of money that I am
unable to repay. The more time that passes, the worse the situation gets. No
one cares about us. The Palestinian Authority has not found solutions for us
after a whole year without work.”
Many other
families in Umm Al-Khair are in a similar situation. Some have even been forced
to sell basic necessities such as home furniture in order to support their
children.
Ammar Hathaleen,
a 32-year-old agricultural worker, lost his job inside Israel when the war
started. “I have six children — we have a lot of expenses,” he explained.
“Since losing my income, I have no way of supporting them.”
Ammar searched
continuously for work in the West Bank but couldn’t find anything. He tried to
harvest wheat and other produce in his agricultural fields near the village to
save money, but the Israeli army and settlers made accessing his own private
land impossible.
Cut off from our
own land
Ammar’s case
illustrates the major difficulties Palestinian farmers throughout the West Bank
are facing as Israeli government-funded settlements increasingly cut them off
from their land. Historically, Hebron and its surrounding villages, such as Umm
Al-Khair, have produced most of the West Bank’s grapes, and along with the
Jordan Valley it is where most of the region’s animal herding takes place.
As such, it is
no accident that settlers have strategically concentrated their attacks in this
fertile area. And with the support of the Israeli army, settler militias have
taken control of tens of thousands of dunams of agricultural land.
Prior to October
7, farmers in Umm Al-Khair who wanted to access their lands on the outskirts of
Israeli settlements during the olive harvest and ploughing seasons had to
secure special authorization from the Israeli authorities. This past year,
however, Israel discontinued the coordination mechanism, preventing many of Umm
Al-Khair’s farmers from accessing their lands at all.
In practice,
Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills have been restricted to a 100-meter
radius around community centers to herd their flocks, while settler shepherds
bring their livestock to graze on privately owned Palestinian land planted with
wheat and barley.
We have also
suffered an unprecedented number of settler attacks over the past 15 months.
Settlers regularly enter the village to harass residents with pepper spray,
attack us with sticks, and steal our wood. Earlier this month, settlers from
Carmel flew huge drones over our village, furthering their intimidation and
surveillance of our daily life.
Meanwhile, we
also face increased violence from a newer outpost — technically illegal even
under Israeli law, though the army protects it and provides it with services —
called Havat Shorashim, which was established in 2022. Starting from July, a
group of settler shepherds from this outpost have begun trespassing on our
private agricultural land to sever the village’s water pipe — the only source
of water for the entire community. Each time we repair it, but it is only a
matter of days or weeks until a settler comes and breaks it again.
Israel’s attacks
on the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) have further exacerbated our
community’s financial misery. Because the residents of Umm Al-Khair are
refugees from other parts of historic Palestine — our ancestors were expelled
from the region of Bir As-Saba/Be’er Sheva during the Nakba of 1948 — we depend
on UNRWA for aid and social services, including basic food supplies and
emergency cash grants. No significant aid has reached the Palestinian refugees
of Umm Al-Khair for a year now, leaving our community particularly vulnerable
to settler attacks and encroachment.
Many Palestinian
workers stressed the need for international institutions to intervene and exert
pressure on the Israeli government specifically regarding the economic
situation in the West Bank — whether by allowing Palestinians to return to
their jobs in Israel or by allowing aid organizations like UNRWA to provide
emergency assistance. The Palestinian workers and farmers of Umm Al-Khair see
what is happening to them as a result of intentional Israeli policy, crafted by
an extreme right-wing government that aims to weaken the Palestinian population
by destroying us economically.
January
20, 2025
Maram
Humaid
Deir
el-Balah, Gaza – After a long-awaited ceasefire agreed by Israel and Hamas
took effect in Gaza on Sunday, marking a pause in one of the region’s most
devastating wars, residents are now navigating a mix of relief and disbelief.
With
the skies finally silent after months of relentless Israeli attacks, people are
returning to their battered neighbourhoods facing the immense challenges of
rebuilding lives torn apart by the 15-month war.
Displaced
residents sheltering in makeshift camps in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, spoke
with Al Jazeera to share their mixed emotions, losses, and their hopes and
fears for the future.
Hamza
al-Ramlawi, 70, from Tal al-Hawa, Gaza City
“We
are very happy and relieved that a ceasefire agreement has finally been
reached,” al-Ramlawi said.
“The
sorrow will remain in our hearts. We will remember those we lost among family
and loved ones. There is joy that we will return, but it is joy filled with
loss and grief.
“I
will remember my son, Mohammed, whom I lost in a bombing near our tent in
az-Zawayda in central Gaza. His loss is as vast
“For
us, we are spending our days with peace of mind now that the bloodshed has
finally stopped.
“This
is the first night we’ve slept peacefully and stably. Every night during the
war, we slept in fear of any strike that could target us.
“We’ve
had enough wars. I hope both sides will calm down and let people live their
lives.
“We
hope this truce will last. We cannot endure this great battle that turned our
lives into a catastrophe.
“I
would be lying if I said I would return to my home in the north happily when
I’ve lost my son. Let me stay silent.”
Suleiman
Abdel Qader, 74, a resident of Deir el-Balah
“We
thank God that the war has finally been stopped. I hope all the displaced can
return to their homes soon,” Abdel Qader said.
“The
people are miserable and have lost so much. Some of our relatives are still
buried under the rubble, and others are missing.
“I
still feel angry towards the European world and America because they didn’t put
enough pressure at the beginning of these 15 months of war.
“It
was a great suffering that every individual in Gaza endured.
“I
hope people heal from their wounds, that the injured find treatment, and those
who lost loved ones find comfort.
“We
hope the ceasefire will continue, despite my many fears, because Israel does
not keep its promises.”
Samah
Shalail, 44, mother of five from Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza:
“The
first day of the ceasefire felt strange. Some people were celebrating and
happy, while others were crying and remembering their loved ones who were
killed in this war,” Shalail said.
“This
is the first night we’ve slept peacefully, feeling at ease knowing that the
bloodshed will stop, that we will return to our lands, and that we are on the
verge of starting a new life.
“The
Palestinian people are full of hope and determination to carry on.
“At
the beginning of the announcement of the ceasefire, I felt cautiously
optimistic. But when the prisoner exchanges began and the planes disappeared
from the skies, I started to feel a bit of relief.
“The
heart is still wounded. We cannot talk about joy and happiness, but there is
psychological relief. We are still afraid of the obstacles awaiting us. The
country has been completely devastated.
“I
expect the ceasefire to last as long as there are agreements for the release of
prisoners and hostages.
“I’m
excited for the upcoming period, for life to resume once again. I want my
children to return to their school desks.”
Soheila
Hazem, 65 years old, from Deir el-Balah:
“The
feeling of the ceasefire is indescribable,” Hazem said. “We are still deeply
affected and pained by the war.
“I
lost my son Hatem, 30 years old, a father of three daughters, last June in a
bombing in Deir el-Balah. My sister also lost her only son, my brother lost his
son, and other relatives as well. No one was spared from loss. We all endured
great suffering in this war.
“We
finally slept our long nights after such a long absence. We couldn’t sleep
because of the bombing and fear. If the bombing wasn’t on us, it would be on my
neighbour, my family, or people we know somewhere else. Every night, when
darkness came, so did worry and fear.
“We
are all one family in this war, and our wounds are shared. We waited for the
war to end so we could learn about the fate of those we lost contact with due
to the communication breakdowns.
“Things
are easier now for us. We feel a great sense of relief and hope international
efforts will continue to stabilise the truce.
“Everyone
must know that this is our land, and it is our right to live here. We ask God
to compensate us for what we’ve lost.
“I
have no plans. I just want to live normally and with stability.”
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