Since October 7, Israeli politicians and far-right leaders have pressed for Israel to replace Palestinian laborers with foreign workers. Such a move would devastate the Palestinian economy and could bring the Palestinian Authority down with it.
Abdelfattah Abusrour shares two poems from Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem inspired by hosting Palestinian workers from Gaza stuck in the West Bank during Israel’s latest onslaught.
Ra’afat Al-Issa was killed by Israeli soldiers as he travelled through a breach in the apartheid wall on his way to work. He is now known as the “martyr of daily bread.”
After Gaza’s Chamber of Commerce announced it would begin accepting applicants for work permits to Israel, tens of thousands rushed to apply. One photo of the scene tells the story of the devastation the Palestinian economy is currently facing.
A crackdown in Lebanon against unlicensed workers that set off a wave of protests in Palestinian refugee camps over the summer intensified this month when the first demonstrator was killed.