Number of Palestinians working in settlements jumps 19% in a single quarter

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of Palestinians working in Israeli settlements jumped significantly in the fourth quarter of 2015, with 26,300 workers compared to 22,100 in the third quarter, or an increase of 19%.

Even more interesting is that the number of Palestinians working for Israelis altogether only increased by 2,000 in the quarter, indicating that the numbers of workers in Israel actually decreased by about 2,200 and the shortfall was more than made up by an increase of workers in the settlements.

This means that about 2.5% of all Palestinian workers are working for and paid by Israeli settlers. Given that the average daily wage for those working for Israelis is more than double those who work domestically in the West Bank (200.6 shekels  vs. 93.6 shekels)  it means that over 5% of total Palestinian wages are dependent on the settlements!

My back of the envelope calculation is that Palestinians working in settlements contribute $300 million annually to the Palestinian economy.

In other words, if somehow the PA would make good on its promises to crack down on people working in the settlements, the loss of income would cause an immediate recession and unemployment  in the West Bank would soar from 18.5% to 21%.

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