Posted on 08/21/22
| News Source: i24
About 200,000 Palestinians cross each day into Israel or Jewish settlements for work
Several thousand Palestinians employed in Israel staged a one-day strike on Sunday, protesting a decision to pay their salaries into bank accounts rather than in cash.
The new payment method was agreed upon between Palestinian and Israeli authorities looking for a more efficient and secure way to pay salaries. Still, workers fear hidden fees and new taxes will cut their wages.
About 200,000 Palestinians cross each day into Israel or Jewish settlements for work, earning, on average, more than twice as much as those employed by Palestinian state bodies and businesses.
Most workers do not have bank accounts and putting their salaries on the books would create a new revenue source for the financially-strapped Palestinian Authority (PA) while bringing a windfall in service fees for Palestinian banks.