Israel’s Violations of Palestinian Workers’ Rights: COVID-19 and Systemic Abuse

The Israeli regime has been systematically violating the rights of Palestinian workers in Israel and its illegal settlements since 1967. How have these violations been exacerbated since the COVID-19 pandemic? Al-Shabaka’s guest contributor, Ihab Maharmeh, examines Israel’s ongoing abuses of Palestinian workers’ labor and human rights. He offers recommendations for securing these rights and for holding Israel accountable.

The PLO diplomatic corps is a main point of contact for Palestinian refugees and exiles. How can this help revive national aspirations? In the first study of its kind, Zaha Hassan, Nadia Hijab, Inès Abdel Razek, and Mona Younis review the corps’ legal foundations, days of glory, shifting roles, and interaction with the diaspora and solidarity groups. They present clear, doable recommendations to the PLO and to the diaspora.

People-to-People (P2P) funded-projects are being revived in the US and Europe, threatening to undermine international law and Palestinians’ rights. Al-Shabaka’s Senior Analyst, Yara Hawari, examines the troubling implications of P2P initiatives and offers recommendations for how policymakers can counter them in order to bring about a just peace that holds Israel accountable for its violations of Palestinians’ rights.

The Palestinian Authority has withheld salary payments from thousands of Palestinian public sector employees. Al-Shabaka policy analyst, Tariq Dana, and Lamees Farraj examine the ways in which the PA has politicized and exploited public sector employment and salaries as a political tradeoff. They offer recommendations for how to remedy the situation, and bring about economic equality for Palestinians.

The Israeli occupation has crippled Palestinian productive sectors, leading to the dominance of internal trade in the Palestinian economy. Al-Shabaka policy analyst, Ibrahim Shikaki, examines how these structural distortions developed as a result of Israel’s oppressive economic policies since it occupied Palestine in 1967. He offers recommendations to the international community and aid agencies for how to support Palestinian economic self-determination. 

Palestinians are increasingly reporting that their digital rights are being violated by social media platforms, including YouTube. Al-Shabaka policy analyst, Amal Nazzal, examines YouTube’s problematic community guidelines and policies, and how they are used to discriminate against Palestinian users’ content. She offers recommendations for protecting the digital rights of Palestinian activists, journalists, and human rights defenders.

Israel has directly contributed to the deterioration of Palestinians’ health during the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Al-Shabaka policy analyst, Yara Asi, explores the different ways in which Israel has impacted Palestinians’ ability to respond to and mitigate the disastrous effects of the pandemic, and recommends approaches to addressing the Palestinian health crisis.

The Israeli state has actively sought to destroy Palestinian Jerusalem since its creation in 1948. Al-Shabaka’s Senior Palestine Policy Fellow, Yara Hawari, examines the July 2020 attacks on three Palestinian cultural institutions in East Jerusalem as part of the Israeli regime’s systematic destruction of the city’s Palestinian identity. She offers policy recommendations for protecting Jerusalem’s Palestinian cultural and political institutions.

Tourism has been critical to the Zionist enterprise since the first Zionists settled Palestine. Al-Shabaka policy analyst Halah Ahmad explores the role of tourism, and especially religious tourism, in propagating the Zionist and Israeli-state narratives, focusing on the damaging impacts of Israeli settlement tourism in illegally occupied Palestinian land. She offers recommendations for ethical tourism that promotes Palestinian rights to self-determination. 

Reports that Israel is compiling lists of officials who might be arrested during travel abroad if the International Criminal Court decides to investigate war crimes in Palestine highlight the power and potential of the Court. Al-Shabaka policy analysts Dana Farraj and Asem Khalil discuss three key indicators that support the strong possibility of ICC intervention against alleged war criminals.