1. Laurie Copans
March 31, 2007
^BC-ME-FEA-GEN--Israel-Palestinians in Hiding,1029<
^Illegal Palestinian workers hide out in Israel, staying
longer as trip home gets tougher<
%photo(^AP Photos AKCP801-803<%)
^By LAURIE COPANS=
^Associated Press Writer=
PETAH TIKVA, Israel (AP) _ Two Palestinian men crawl
through an opening not much larger than a shoe box and
descend a shaky ladder, into a space filled with the rank
smell of urine and cigarette smoke.
This underground, unfinished mall near the junction of
two Tel Aviv highways is home for dozens of Palestinian
laborers who can't get scarce work permits. It's where they
disappear each night, living out of sight of Israeli
authorities to fill jobs offered by Israeli businesses.
"When you want to work, you are not afraid of
anything," said 23-year-old Abdul Jalil Hamad, who lights a
candle on a concrete wall to shed light on his bed, a
mattress that he found in the garbage.
To avoid discovery by police, Hamad and his friends
send only those with the best Hebrew and cleanest clothes
to buy food at a minimarket on a back street. When the
police catch him, he returns home to the West Bank with
empty pockets, to face 14 family members who rely on his
pay.
An international aid boycott of the Palestinian
government _ imposed after the Islamic militants of Hamas
rose to power in last year's election _ has exacerbated
poverty in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where about a
third of the able-bodied population is out of work.
The result is that across Israel at least 10,000
illegal Palestinian laborers sleep every night in shacks
made from leftover building materials, or in open orchards,
or in unused structures like the mall. Meals often consist
of bread, humus and cheese.
Some stay in buildings with running water and
electricity, so they can cook and bathe in warm water. But
most lack such luxuries.
"They can't take showers for days and weeks, and they
live in inhumane conditions," said Hanna Zohar, founder of
Israel's Kav La'Oved workers hot line. "They are not
criminals, but they are frightened like hunted animals."
The workers risk arrest, jail sentences, expulsion and
even beatings. Dozens are caught everyday by border police
as they try to get to work.

2. Palestinian economist Samir Abdullah said the Israeli
restrictions have had a ripple effect, since each laborer
supports an average of seven people, and the anger pushes
some Palestinians to join militant groups.
"Israel carries responsibility for creating this
phenomenon by squeezing the Palestinian economy," he said.
"They have to continue to find solutions as long as there
is occupation."
Israel says the Palestinian uprising that began seven
years ago _ including a suicide bombing campaign that
killed hundreds of Israelis _ left it with little choice
but to restrict Palestinians' access to Israel.
Jobs that Palestinians used to perform _ construction,
farming, cleaning _ are now often filled by guest workers
from Thailand, Romania, Philippines, India, China and other
countries.
About 55,000 Palestinians have permits to enter Israel
for work, down from 120,000 in the mid-1990s, said Shlomo
Dror, an Israeli army spokesman. Estimates of the number of
illegal Palestinian workers in Israel range from 10,000 to
20,000 _ all from the West Bank, as Gaza is surrounded by a
nearly impenetrable fence.
To avoid detection, Wahel Juma Asi said he spends more
than half his monthly wage of US$1,100 (euro815) on renting
an apartment and taking taxis to his job, stocking shelves
at a minimarket. Still, the 22-year-old makes about four
times as much in Israel as he can in the West Bank.
"We come and go like thieves," Asi said. "I can't go
out during the day, except to work. I duck down in the taxi
so that no one sees me."
Asi has been caught many times, and was once put in
jail for a year, he said. Police warned him the sentence
will be even longer if he is caught again, he said.
A border police commander from the northern Jerusalem
area, Amir Cohen, said about 400 Palestinians try to cross
the security barrier illegally everyday. Of those, many
turn back when they see police patrols, and about 90 are
caught, he said.
In a tour, Cohen showed many sections where the
barrier between Israeli and Palestinian areas has not been
built, or where laborers climb over the structure. He
acknowledged that although suicide bombers take the same
routes, the vast majority of infiltrators have nothing to
do with attacks.
"We know that not even one percent of these people are
bombers," Cohen said. "We understand their suffering, but
we have a goal and we have to carry it out as best we can."

3. Those who are caught are usually detained or sent back
to the West Bank. Eitan Diamond, a researcher at the
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, said that "every
worker we talked to told us that at least once they were
beaten and sometimes severely."
Basim Jabur, 33, said his arm was broken in one such
beating. "Two border policemen came after me and started to
hit me with a stick," he said.
Cohen denied his officers beat workers, and police
spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police investigate all
accusations of violence.
At the unfinished Petah Tikva mall, police cemented
shut the main entrance, so only Palestinians thin enough to
fit through the small hole can slip underground to sleep.
Inside, a slight boy of 16 spoke as he ran his fingers
around the flame of a candle. He gave his name only as
Mohammed, and said he needs to support his family of eight
because his father is paralyzed in both legs. He said he
hadn't found work for days and had to borrow money for food.
"At night when we are sleeping he talks in his sleep
about his troubles," said a friend who stood next to him,
giving his name as Maher.
Asi, the minimarket worker, said if he's discovered
and expelled he would do anything to survive.
"I'll steal _ or I'll go to Hamas and they will pay
me," he said. "How did suicide bombers get into Hamas?
Because they didn't have any money and they went crazy."