Migrant and Palestinian workers in Israel and the West Bank face high exploitation risks

Migrant workers in Israel are increasingly subject to labour rights violations following the rapid and large-scale recruitment of workers from third countries – alongside regression from protective schemes – since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war, according to rights organization Kav LaOved (KLO). Workers report violations including inadequate living conditions, non-payment of wages, and passport confiscation, compounded by the threat of visa revocation, detention, and deportation.

Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinian workers who are no longer able to cross into Israel to work lawfully, and cannot find formal employment within the West Bank, face a stark choice between illegal employment in Israel and unregulated labour in settlements. In what KLO describes as a second humanitarian crisis for Palestinians, both circumstances carry a high risk of rights violations, while workers in the West Bank are further subject to unsafe conditions and abuse.

KLO’s work also shows a sharp increase in severe rights violations and conditions that, in some cases, amount to forced labour and modern slavery within Israel, or labour trafficking to Israel. The volume and urgency of cases reaching the organization since October 2023, it says, reflect not isolated incidents but a systemic breakdown between the scale of labour recruitment and the mechanisms intended to safeguard workers’ rights.

Since the start of the war, Israel has undergone a profound and rapid shift in its labour migration policy, driven by the entry ban on Palestinian workers from the West Bank – originally presented as a temporary emergency measure but now entrenched in practice – and the resulting shortage of manual labour. The Israeli Government has moved from a policy that, at least formally, sought to limit and tightly regulate labour migration to one whose explicit objective is the rapid importation of workers across an expanding range of sectors. As a result, the number of migrant workers – from India, Thailand, China, Uzbekistan, and other countries – has risen from around 140,000 at the end of 2023 to close to 270,000 today.

According to KLO, this expansion has not been accompanied by a corresponding strengthening of supervision, enforcement, or regulatory safeguards, which were already vastly insufficient on the eve of the war. In fact, in an effort to accelerate recruitment, the state has relaxed or suspended key regulatory mechanisms, including supervised recruitment of workers through bilateral agreements. Large numbers of workers are now recruited through unsupervised private channels involving illegal brokerage fees, deception regarding wages and working conditions, and a lack of transparency and accountability, the organization says. As a result, workers begin their employment under conditions of acute debt bondage, drastically reducing their bargaining power, which is further weakened by restrictions tying them to specific employers within designated sectors.

Meanwhile, in the face of the entry ban, an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 Palestinian workers previously employed in Israel have been left without work, pushing many households into extreme poverty. Many have no choice but to find work in Israeli settlements, where employment of Palestinians is still allowed. KLO estimates that 30,000 to 40,000 workers are now employed in settlements – effectively helping build the infrastructure that entrenches the occupation of their land. Furthermore, intense competition for employment means workers are forced to accept exploitative arrangements and conditions that breach their human rights, says KLO, whose monitoring work, conducted in collaboration with its partners in the West Bank, reports wage violations, occupational hazards, verbal and physical abuse, child labour, and sexual harassment.

Moreover, an estimated 50,000 Palestinians risk arrest, trafficking, and abuse by crossing into Israel and working without permits. They operate entirely outside legal safeguards and their fear of arrest and punishment makes them highly vulnerable to exploitation – according to KLO, recruiters and employers routinely withhold wages or call the police shortly before salaries are due to be paid.

The cumulative effect of these conditions is a dramatic increase in the risk of human trafficking, forced labour, and slavery-like practices throughout both Israel and the West Bank. For migrant workers, there is effectively no safety net: private agencies tasked with supporting them in practice work for their employers, and they effectively have no union representation, limited access to legal remedies, and no state body proactively ensuring their protection. For Palestinians, a climate of non-accountability and impunity in the West Bank means they effectively have no labour rights at all.

In response to this deepening crisis, KLO is undertaking a safeguarding project designed to provide an immediate and practical response to these realities. In Israel, it aims to protect migrant workers from severe labour exploitation, forced labour, and trafficking, by ensuring access to multilingual assistance, increasing awareness of their rights, and intervening rapidly in emergency situations, while also advocating for structural policy change. In the West Bank, where the scope for intervention is extremely limited, KLO carries out labour rights awareness and health and safety trainings, giving workers tools with which to protect themselves. It further provides legal and paralegal aid for individuals, as well as counseling support. These efforts also allow the group to monitor the situation on the ground, and carry out research and advocacy on behalf of those facing exploitation and abuse.

Here’s a roundup of other noteworthy news and initiatives:

More than 100 investors, unions, survivor advocates, businesses and civil society organisations are urging the Australian government to strengthen the country’s Modern Slavery Act by introducing mandatory human rights due diligence requirements for large companies. The coalition argues that reporting alone has not led to meaningful change, and is calling for stronger corporate accountability and action to address forced labour risks in supply chains.

A FairSquare investigation into Saudi Aramco’s supply chain has found migrant workers in Saudi Arabia facing extreme heat exposure, excessive working hours, unsafe accommodation, and major obstacles to securing compensation after workplace injuries or deaths. Drawing on interviews with Nepali workers employed across multiple Aramco sites, the report raises concerns about the company’s oversight of labour standards among contractors and subcontractors.

Research published by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime warns that China-linked scam syndicates are increasingly expanding operations into Africa as crackdowns intensify in Southeast Asia. The analysis points to rising trafficking into forced criminality through fraudulent job offers, alongside signs of scam compounds and underground financial networks becoming established across several African countries.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has issued an advisory opinion affirming that workers have a right to strike under the International Labour Organization’s core Freedom of Association convention. While non-binding, the decision could influence labour law and industrial relations frameworks globally, particularly in countries in which the right to strike remains restricted or contested.

The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre documented nearly 800 attacks against human rights defenders linked to business activity in 2025, with many cases tied to sectors associated with high exploitation risks, including mining, fossil fuels and agribusiness. The findings also highlight the disproportionate targeting of Indigenous, land and environmental defenders, alongside the growing use of criminalisation and digital surveillance to suppress activism.

A case study shared by Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation shows how practical livelihood support helped reduce trafficking vulnerability for a H’mong family in northern Vietnam, where poverty and migration pressures often force children out of school and families into risky work. The story highlights how a small livestock grant enabled the family to build stable income locally, while a wider community farming initiative has since expanded to support other households.

Winrock International is hiring a Project Director for a new programme in Indonesia focused on strengthening labour protections and addressing forced labour risks in the critical minerals sector. Based in Jakarta or Makassar, the role involves work across government, industry and civil society to improve responsible labour practices and worker protections in mineral mining and processing, with applications open until 27 May 2026.