A SURVEY OF COMMUTING LABOR FROM THE WEST-BANK TO ISRAEL

This article is based on a survey of labor commuting from the West Ban k to Israel. The principal results from the survey indicate that the m ajority of commuters had had their land confiscated by the Israeli aut horities prior to starting to commute. The results also show that for some commuters their job in Israel represented a first time job while others had been unemployed before commuting. The combined effects of a stagnating indigenous economy burdened by the politics and economics of occupation, and the sudden drop in initial wealth, primarily as a r esult of land confiscation represented the major reasons for labor com muting.