海角大神

Theoretically, the 10-month freeze on building Israeli settlements in the West Bank was supposed to benefit the Palestinian cause.

But at the run-down cafes that make up a town square of sorts here in the Jalazon Refugee Camp, there鈥檚 a different story.

It鈥檚 just before noon, and the area is full of young men with nowhere to go.

Normally, about half of Jalazon鈥檚 able-bodied men are employed in construction in nearby Jewish settlements. But since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from President Barack Obama, announced the settlement building freeze in October, much of the work has disappeared.

In the long-term, the freeze is meant to help the stagnant Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said he wouldn鈥檛 agree to a resumption in peace talks without a building moratorium. But in the short-term, thousands of Palestinians who work in construction across the West Bank are feeling the pinch. They鈥檙e annoyed that no one seems to be paying attention to the impact on their lives of what they see as a pointless exercise.

鈥淲ork in the settlements has decreased dramatically in the last few months 鈥� it鈥檚 nothing like it was before. But our lives haven鈥檛 changed for the better and the leaders aren鈥檛 any closer to peace, so what鈥檚 the point?鈥� says Walid Mustafa, a sort of self-appointed spokesman of the unemployed and father of seven who says he鈥檚 lucky to find work one day a month. 鈥淭he settlement freeze is temporary anyway. The Israeli government is made up of settlers, and they will build again soon enough.鈥�

Mr. Mustafa estimates that about 80 percent of camp residents who work in construction are now unemployed, while those still working are taking jobs for 50 shekels a day ($13) rather than the 150 shekels ($40) they used to make.

鈥淭he settlement freeze has only brought more poverty,鈥� complains Abdel Aziz Othman.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no work anywhere,鈥� agrees Issa Muhammed Mahmoud, a young man who spends most days sitting here, chatting and drinking tea for lack of something else to do. 鈥淚 used to be able to go into Israel to work on sites there, but now they don鈥檛 give permits for that, and they鈥檙e bringing laborers from China to do it.鈥�

Palestinian: I'm not judged for working in settlements

The fact that so many Palestinians work on building sites in the occupied West Bank is a sensitive matter, though most construction workers here will talk freely about it.
On the one hand, settlements are roundly considered by Palestinians to be an impediment to the establishment of a Palestinian state, and clearly stand in the way of Palestinian territorial contiguity in the West Bank. The 120 settlements that Israel has built in the West Bank since 1967 are considered illegal under international law, and Israel never annexed the territory.

But on the other hand, most Palestinians consider working in settlements to be a form of realpolitik applied to home economics. Palestinians who are skilled in masonry, construction, and other relevant trades have built the vast majority of homes in Israel鈥檚 controversial settlements to meet their daily needs.

鈥淲hile the politicians dawdle away the months, we have families to feed,鈥� says Fawzi Aqraba, a Palestinian from the Nablus area interviewed while finishing off a home in the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Netafim. 鈥淓veryone at home in my village knows what I do, and I don鈥檛 think anyone judges it. We have to survive.鈥�

New 'Dignity Fund' for Palestinians

Mr. Abbas rejected Netanyahu鈥檚 offer of a 10-month settlement freeze late last year, maintaining his position that the stop-work order should mean all building comes to a halt, and that it must include East Jerusalem. Netanyahu exempted approximately 3,000 buildings 鈥� projects already begun 鈥� from the freeze, and he has rejected calls to limit Israeli building anywhere in Jerusalem. George Mitchell, the US Middle East peace envoy, was here last week in the hopes of forging a breakthrough, but none was apparent.

Palestinian officials hold that the Israeli offer is too limited in scope. 鈥�Washington, along with the international community, is pressuring the Palestinians without obliging Israel to stop settlement construction,鈥� Nabil Shaath, a member of the Central Committee of Abbas鈥檚 Fatah party, said Tuesday in a statement e-mailed to reporters.

Ziad Toame, director general at the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy, says the Palestinian Authority (PA) recognizes that many Palestinian workers depend on jobs in the settlements. Mr. Toame鈥檚 ministry is in charge of enforcing a new PA campaign to get Palestinians to stop buying goods made in settlements. As part of the campaign, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad set up a $2 million 鈥淒ignity Fund鈥� to compensate Palestinian merchants for their losses.

鈥淲e hope that the Dignity Fund will be expanded, if we get more donors, and then we might be able to compensate construction workers as well,鈥� Toame says. 鈥淥r start training programs so they can do something else.鈥�