average wage of workers with permits, who earn NIS 186 ($ 48). Furthermore,
workers without permits are often unable to work as many days per month
as workers with permits,170 further increasing the wage gap and risk of
exploitation.
Working ‘Illegally’ in Israel171
“I am 26 years old from Dheisheh refugee camp, near Bethlehem. I sneak in “illegally” to
reach my workplace in Jerusalem. I have so many responsibilities, particularly paying the
debts of my family and covering the university fee for my sister. I take this risk of sneaking
in, because there are no other options available for me. Frankly speaking, my life is not
normal and it cannot be normal because I don’t have a working permit. I can’t get married
for instance, because sometimes I stay at work 40 days in a row without going home.
Sometimes I get really depressed because I leave my family, friends and the whole camp
for such a long time.
In the past I have tried to get a permit but they even refused to issue me a “magnetic
card”, which is a precondition to apply for a permit. The Israeli authorities told me that I
was rejected because of my family name. I don’t even know what that means! Plus, why
should this even be a factor?
Once I spoke to an Israeli Jewish lawyer. He asked me to meet him at the tunnel in Beit
Jala [Area C] and asked for an advance payment of NIS 2000 ($ 515). But people told
me that such lawyers usually take the money and then disappear. So I did not meet him.
My biggest fear is to be caught, arrested and then to lose my work opportunity. I’ve
been imprisoned many times already. Israel has all my documents and my fingerprints.
After an arrest they would take me to an isolated spot up north, from where I have to try
and manage to find my way back home. The worst-case scenario is to get caught while
working, which happened to me once. I didn’t have any money on me back then, and they
dropped me off north of Jenin. It was a four-hour walk between where they left me and
Jenin. I walked for four hours until I found a decent man who helped me and gave me
money to get back home to Bethlehem.”
170 Ibid.
171 BADIL’s interview with Daoud Faheem, “Working ‘Illegally’ in Israel”, Bethlehem, August 2015
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