Democratic Palestine : 28 (ص 17)
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- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 28 (ص 17)
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SETTLEMENT—BUILDING
Throughout the 20 years of occupation, the Israeli government
has stressed the importance of creating new realities in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip. The overriding aim was creating a
situation which would rule out Israeli withdrawal from these
territories, or at least insure Israeli control if limited military
withdrawal was required at some point. Thus, the most ob-
viously threatening aspect of Israeli occupation policy has been
the construction of settlements. In 1975, there were 2,581 set-
tlers in the West Bank. Today, there are more than 60,000.
(These figures and those in the article in general exclude
Jerusalem.) See table no. 1 for the increase in settlers.
TABLE NO. 1
During the term of the Labor Alignment government
(1968-77), the average annual increment of settlers was 770.
During the Likud’s term (1977-84), the average annual incre-
ment was 5,400 settlers. The difference in these figures should
not lead to any mistaken political conclusions about fun-
damental differences between Labor and Likud policy on the
matter of increasing settlers. In the first year these two blocks
joined to rule ‘Israel’ in a coalition government (1984), there
was an increase of 15,000 settlers. The decline in the annual
increment in 1985-6 is not due to policy change, but to Israeli
economic difficulties.
By 1986, there were 104 settlements in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip. The Israeli government, in view of international
pressure to limit the construction of new settlements, is now
concentrating on thickening the existing settlements with the
aim of having 100,000 settlers in the territories. This goal was
to be met in 1986; at the current rate, it will be met in the early
1990s.
PALESTINIAN WORKERS IN ‘ISRAEL’
There are 436,000 Palestinians aged 14 or older living in the
West Bank. Of these, 154,000 are in the labor force. One-third
of the labor force works in ‘Israel’. In the Gaza Strip, the
comparable figure is 264,000, of whom 87,200 are in the labor
force, half of them working in ‘Israel’. Figures vary since
many are hired on a daily basis and illegally, but an estimated
100,000 Palestinians sell their labor power in the 1948 occupied
territories. Half of them work illegally, without a work permit.
The workers from the territories can be divided as follows:
48.3% work in construction; 19.5% in services including low
i R. = z Pel be
Gaza youth line up for daily work in Tel Aviv.
on
status jobs such as cleaning, dishwashing and gardening; 18%
in industry and 14.2% in agriculture.
These workers must commute daily. They work long shifts
(12 hours) and are paid less than half of an Israeli worker’s
wages ($133 as opposed to $333-533 average monthly wage).
The Histadrut (Israeli Labor Federation which is
simultaneously a corporation) collects dues from those who
work legally, but without providing the benefits received by
Israeli workers. Palestinians from the territories pay 20% of
their wages in taxes directly to the Israeli state treasury,
whereas this deduction from an Israeli worker’s paycheck goes
to the National Insurance Institute. The amount saved by the
Israeli economy due to wage differences between Palestinian
and Israeli workers has increased from $4.7 million in 1968, to
$390.2 million in 1984. The Israeli economy saved a total of
$3049.8 million between 1968 and 1985: See table no. 2.
TABLE No. 2
Year Workers from occupied Israeli annual savings —
territories in 1000s in millions of dollars _
1969 DS 12.7
1970 19.8 34.1
1971 33.1 53.7
1072 50.8 76.3
1973 59.3 118.3
1974 66.5 145.4
1975 63.9 141.3
1976 63.2 142.9
1977 62.0 160.2
1978 67.0 172.3
1979 73.0 209.9
1980 73.2 231.8
1981 13.9 254.9
1982 16.6 268.1
1983 84.3 274.8
1984 86.9: 390.2
1985 86.1 256.2
total ——- 3049.8
The Israeli state saves 15% of the Palestinian workers’ tota}
wages which is what would ordinarily be paid to an Israeli
worker in benefits such as retirement and National Insurance >
17 - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 28
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- الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين
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