Agencies-Gaza post
2000 more Palestinian workers were allowed to enter Israel from Gaza
Israel raised the ration of work permits for Gaza Palestinians to 14,000 on Thursday, raising a procedure that defense officials consider as a means of preserving quiet on the country’s southern front.
Extra 2,000 permits were added to the quota, according to Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians, widely understood by its acronym COGAT.
The Defense Ministry signed off on an uncertain plan to raise the number of Gaza passes to 20,000, a dramatic and remarkable growth. At the end of 2021, just 5,000 Palestinians had permits to work or trade in Israel.
“All the civilian steps toward Gaza are dependent on continued security stability over time. Whether to expand them or not will be determined accordingly,” COGAT reported in a statement.
The Gaza Strip has been besieged by both Israel and Egypt for over 15 years in an try to contain the enclave’s Hamas rulers. Israel states that tight restrictions on goods and people are necessary due to the group’s efforts to massively arm itself for fighting against the Jewish state.
Analysts regret the blockade’s impact on ordinary Gazans, around 50 percent of whom are jobless, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. The sky-high deprivation rates make work in Israel a highly attractive choice for those lucky enough to receive permits.
In Gaza, Palestinian workers can predict an average daily wage of about NIS 60 ($17.35). The rare allowed to cross into Israel to work might get as much as NIS 400 ($115.66) per day, according to a statement in Times of Israel sister site Zman Yisrael.
