JABALIYA, Gaza Strip — Gazan workers are still trying to look for new work opportunities to relieve the unemployment crisis and the dire economic situation as a result of the Israeli blockade that has been going on for eight years. This time, however, their search for work is inside Israel and in a legal way. Some Palestinian workers have entered Israel through permits granted only to traders.

Officials with the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) told Al-Monitor that nearly 200,000 unemployed workers in Gaza, following last summer’s war, pinned their hopes on obtaining work permits to enter Israel after Israel issued a statement a month after the war about providing humanitarian opportunities for Gazans. This included permits for 5,000 workers. However, these dreams faded away as the Israeli authorities allowed the issuance of “work” permits for traders only.

Mohammed (a pseudonym), 39, worked in construction projects inside Israel for four years before the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000, when Israel decided to ban a large number of Gazan workers from entering for work.

“Before the second intifada, I worked inside Israel — until the Israeli authorities banned Gazan workers from entering their territories. Back then, I used to work in construction projects, plumbing, water systems installation and sanitation. My monthly paycheck used to be 3,000 shekels ($768), which was the equivalent to a government employee’s one-month salary back then,” he said.