Palestinian workers were barely recovering from the blows they suffered from the occupation and its racist practices on the crossings, and the pursuit of smuggled workers in their workplaces, arresting and assaulting them, until the Corona pandemic came to stop their work on their global holiday, which corresponds to the first of May every year.
Worker Nidal Anayah (45 years) from Qalqilya says: "I work inside the field of manufacturing prints, and with the Corona pandemic I sat at home, and there was no room to continue working inside, I balanced the matter, either to continue work and stay in the workplace In circumstances that I cannot appreciate, or staying at home with my family and continuing a life of austerity and economy, I decided to stay with my family, despite the harsh decision of the family.
Enaya adds: "I work and collect 250 NIS daily, and by saving some money I have been able to withstand until now in the face of the Corona crisis, and with the decision of the occupation to open the crossings gradually, I am confused, and I cannot yet make the decision; the comparison between your health and the health of your family or Working under risky conditions. "
In turn, the employee at the Ministry of Labor, Abdel Karim Merdawi, says: “The Corona pandemic came to cast a shadow on all the Palestinian people, and the workers are the most affected category, as they live on their work diaries at home and in the settlement, and they are the ones who are pumping money to the market, and on International Workers Day the Palestinian worker stands between Corona pandemic hammer and work in unsanitary conditions at home, and several decisions have been taken by the Palestinian government and the Ministry of Labor to help workers, who are in an unenviable position.
Worker Ezzat Omar (40 years) from the village of Azzun Atma said: "I work in the construction field, and my monthly income is excellent, and with the Corona pandemic we have become without work, and the matter does not have a time limit until we know when it ends, and I have made my decision to go to work. The operator will provide it with an adequate opportunity, because staying at home will increase the risk of the Corona pandemic socially, and will take preventive measures. "
Worker Zakaria Labdeh (50 years) says: "I work in the field of shortage, and my daily life is more than five hundred shekels, and since the Corona pandemic I refused to go to work or overnight, and after the Israeli government´s decision to open the field for construction and agricultural workers, I and other workers over the age of I cannot I have to enter fifty years, for I am 50 years old and have a trade permit that I cannot enter.
And he adds: "On the day of the workers, the calamities gathered upon us, and we became among the destitute."
For his part, Shaher Saad, Secretary-General of the Federation of Palestinian Syndicates, says: "The workers inside the country enter about 800 million shekels every month for the Palestinian market, and with the Kurna pandemic these revenues were absent.
Saad notes that the number of these workers exceeds two hundred thousand workers, so the workers suffered a severe blow on International Labor Day, and they are suffering before the Corona pandemic, degrading measures on the crossings, in addition to exploitation by Israeli operators.
Electrical technician Adnan Abu Samra (45 years) from Qalqilya said: "I chose to stay at home and not stay overnight since the Corona pandemic, and although the decision was difficult, the lives of my children are more important than all the funds, and despite the urgency of the Israeli operator to stay overnight, and provide all the necessities for the overnight stay , It was more correct to stay with the family in the face of the Corona pandemic. "
