West Bank checkpoints will open tomorrow for one day only to allow Palestinian workers to enter Israel before closing again, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announces.
Palestinian workers who arrive will be asked to remain in Israel for three weeks. Any worker wishing to return to the West Bank during this period can do so, but they will not be able to return, COGAT says.
The restrictions aim to prevent the daily movement of tens of thousands of workers back and forth across the Green Line, which the Palestinian Authority has said is a primary vector for the coronavirus outbreak currently raging in the West Bank.
Palestinian workers enter Israel through the Meitar checkpoint near Hebron in the West Bank, May 5, 2020. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)
According to a Supreme Court order, employers must provide adequate lodging for Palestinian workers staying inside Israel during the three-week period, although some reports have raised questions about whether businesses are fulfilling that obligation.
Approximately 100,000 West Bank Palestinians are legally employed in Israel or in West Bank settlements, according to the Kav LaOved worker’s rights group. They constitute a large part of the Palestinian economy — approximately 15-20 percent of employed Palestinians work in Israel.
— Aaron Boxerman
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