[Jerusalem Post] Khaled Abu Toameh - The last thing that Abu Mohammed al-Najjar wants is for Israel to succumb to U.S. pressure and halt construction in the West Bank settlements. Freezing construction would be a disaster not only for him and his family, but for thousands of other Palestinians working in settlements in the West Bank. More than 12,000 Palestinians are employed by both Jewish and Arab contractors building new homes in the settlements. "We're talking about thousands of families in the West Bank that rely on this work as their sole source of income," a Palestinian official in Ramallah admitted. Jawdat Uwaisat, 44, said that he and his colleagues working for Israelis earn almost three times what they would receive doing the same work for Palestinian construction companies. He said even Palestinian supporters of Hamas and Islamic Jihad are employed in settlements. "When people want to feed their children, they don't think twice."
2009-06-26 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive