Israel Collected $100m From Palestinians. Now It Wants to Use the Money to Upgrade Roadblocks
- Israel Collected $100m From Palestinians. Now It Wants to Use the Money to Upgrade Roadblocks
by Or Kashti, https://www.haaretz.com/
The Finance Ministry and the Population and Immigration Authority have accumulated millions of shekels in sick leave compensations belonging to Palestinian workers
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The Finance Ministry and the Population and Immigration Authority are exploring a variety of ways to use an accumulated 380 million shekels ($105 million) in sick leave compensation sitting in accounts of Palestinian laborers with Israeli work permits. An option being considered is to put the money toward upgrading border crossings between the West Bank and Israel.
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The funds were paid by the Palestinians’ Israeli employers after deducting the sums from the workers’ wages. Little of the money has reached the workers themselves and the High Court of Justice will hold an initial hearing next week on a petition filed about two years ago about the disposition of the funds.
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The issues is over the fact that Israeli employers have automatically deducted 2.5% Palestinian laborers’ salaries for a sick leave fund managed by the Population Authority. Any unused funds are transferred to the Finance Ministry.
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The procedure that Palestinians must follow to obtain any of their money is much more complicated than what is required of Israelis. They may withdraw funds only in the event of illness or debilitating injury that prevents them from working, and the application process requires a number of administrative and medical approvals.
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A government plan developed by a team representing the finance, justice and labor ministries, Immigration Authority and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories suggests four possible options for the accumulated funds: Upgrading West Bank checkpoints, providing professional training for the workers, modernizing the work permit system, or improving pension benefits.
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