There is a strange reason why work has ground to a halt on hundreds of construction sites, fields and greenhouses all across Israel. On Friday Feb. 5, tens of thousands of Palestinian laborers returned to their homes in the West Bank for the weekend. They have since been prevented from returning to work because of the closure order. This has a devastating impact on the work and salaries of countless Palestinians and their families; the money that they earn in Israel is an essential part of the Palestinian economy, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic.

A total of some 45,000 Palestinian laborers — out of a total 80,000 with regular work permits — have been living within the Green Line since the current closure was first imposed in January, as a result of a spike in coronavirus cases. According to the Health Ministry, although there has been a high rate of vaccination in Israel, there has nevertheless been a spike in infections, due to new mutations of the virus from Britain and South Africa.

Ahead of the lockdown, an agreement reached between the ministries of Defense, Housing and Health allowed workers to enter Israel from the West Bank on condition that they remained in the country, and did not return to their homes. Contractors and farmers, who employed these laborers, were then required to provide them with accommodation and food.

Then on Feb. 5, after a heated Cabinet meeting the night before, these contractors and farmers were informed that as a result of a discussion in the Defense Ministry, workers who had not seen their families in weeks would be allowed to return to their homes, on condition that they would return to work on the morning of Feb. 7. A senior government official told the press that this information was relayed by the Office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), after a discussion led by Defense Minister Benny Gantz.