Palestinians working in Judea and Samaria combined average daily wage was NIS 263.40 ($84.14), nearly double the NIS 134.30 ($42.90) earned by Palestinians working for Palestinian employers.By David Israel, TPSEuropean sanctions targeting Israeli businesses in Judea and Samaria risk worsening the economic conditions driving Palestinians to seek a future elsewhere, including in Europe itself, experts warned The Press Service of Israel.Sanctions, such as those recently spearheaded by Britain, may undermine businesses and fuel Palestinian emigration to Europe, they said.For Palestinians employed by Israeli businesses, the consequences of boycotts and sanctions can be immediate.Workers in Israeli industrial zones in Judea and Samaria often earn nearly twice as much as their counterparts working for Palestinian employers.Closing or relocating these businesses can deprive thousands of Palestinians of relatively well-paid jobs, pushing them into unemployment or forcing them to accept substantially lower wages.The economic pressures come amid a broader phenomenon of Palestinian emigration.Surveys have repeatedly found that significant numbers of Palestinians, particularly young people, would leave if given the opportunity.Economic hardship, insecurity, and pessimism about the future are among the principal reasons.The result is a growing contradiction: European governments that say they want to improve Palestinian living conditions may be supporting policies that make remaining in Palestinian communities increasingly difficult.One Israeli businessman from the Barkan Industrial Park in Samaria told TPS-IL he does not doubt the fate of the hundreds of Palestinians he employs.Zvika did not give his last name, not wanting to draw the boycott movement’s attention.“They will be the first to suffer,” he told The Press Service of Israel. “We provide them with livelihoods, and if this causes damage to our businesses, the first thing that will happen is that they will lose their jobs and become unemployed.”In Zvika’s view, the consequences of those EU measures would include “enormous damage to a broad industrial sector that employs tens of thousands of workers.”“I want to emphasize that these workers receive the same employment conditions as Israelis, including all social benefits. They earn good salaries. If they can find work with a Palestinian employer, wages there are roughly 20% of what we pay. But finding such work is far from guaranteed.”Workers Caught in the CrossfireAccording to the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO), real gross domestic product (GDP) in the Palestinian Authority (PA), including eastern Jerusalem, contracted by 17.1% between the first quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2025.The World Bank reported that combined real GDP in the PA and Gaza contracted by 28% in 2024, falling to $10.6 billion and wiping out 15 years of economic growth.The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) reported that unemployment in the PA rose from approximately 14% in the third quarter of 2023 (129,000 persons) to 29.5% in the first quarter of 2026 (294,000 persons) and 27.9% in Q2 2026 (284,000 persons).Meanwhile, the number of Palestinians from the PA employed by Israeli employers reached 53,000 in Q2 2026, up from 48,000 in the previous quarter.This figure includes Palestinians working both inside Israel and in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.According to the PCBS, more than 35,000 worked inside the Green Line, the pre-1967 armistice line, while another 17,600 were employed in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.Their combined average daily wage was NIS 263.40 ($84.14), nearly double the NIS 134.30 ($42.90) earned by Palestinians working for Palestinian employers.However, an October 2026 article published by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA) warned that British sanctions on products manufactured by Israeli businesses in Judea and Samaria could have serious consequences for Palestinian workers employed there.The article, written by former Israeli Ambassador to Canada Alan Baker and Maurice Hirsch, director of the JCFA’s Initiative for Palestinian Authority Accountability and Reform, warned that sanctions could prompt Israeli businesses to lay off Palestinian employees.Israel could also consider revoking work permits, potentially affecting the broader group of 53,000 Palestinians employed by Israeli employers, including those working inside the Green Line.With Palestinian unemployment already approaching 30%, they estimated that losing these relatively well-paid positions could push the rate to 32%-34%.Palestinian workers could face two distinct risks: reduced European orders could lead affected businesses in Judea and Samaria to cut jobs, potentially affecting some of the 17,600 Palestinians employed there, while any Israeli decision to revoke work permits in response to the restrictions could also affect Palestinians employed inside the Green Line.Hirsch and Baker describe the latter as a possible Israeli countermeasure.In comments to TPS-IL, Hirsch described Europe’s approach as “crazed hypocrisy.”He argued that while European countries have accepted millions of refugees from Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East, they have been far less willing to take in Palestinians, even during wartime.Following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack, Israel barred approximately 115,000 Palestinian workers holding permits from entering the country.According to Gisha, an Israeli human rights and legal aid NGO focusing on Palestinian freedom of movement, of approximately 48,000 work permits that were suspended when war broke out, around 32,000 were renewed in 2024.However, the renewal of permits does not establish how many workers actually returned to their jobs.A Quiet ExodusEconomic difficulties are part of a broader problem: Palestinians have been leaving their communities in search of opportunities abroad, particularly in Europe and North America.Germany has historically been a leading European destination for Palestinian asylum seekers, while Greece and Cyprus serve as important entry points.Established Palestinian communities also exist in Sweden, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.Specific numbers for Palestinian emigration are difficult to pin down. Between 2015 and 2025, European Union member states received 216,000 first-time asylum applications from people registered as stateless, of unknown nationality, or as citizens of Palestine.The desire to leave predates the current war. In September 2022, Dr. Khalil Shikaki, director of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), reported that an average of 30% of Palestinians had expressed a desire to emigrate over the preceding decade.The figure reached 41% in Gaza, compared with 23% in the PA. Among young people aged 18 to 29, the average was 42%, rising to 53% in Gaza.Shikaki attributed the desire to leave to dissatisfaction with living conditions, insecurity, and pessimism about reconciliation between the PA and Gaza.Other PCPSR surveys have found that between 25% and 33% of Palestinians would leave if given the opportunity.Dr. Mordechai Kedar, an Israeli scholar of Arab culture and lecturer at Bar-Ilan University, told TPS-IL that the Palestinian exodus is more pronounced among the younger generation.“There is a very substantial exodus from Judea and Samaria today. Large numbers of people are leaving, particularly young people. It’s mostly young men, but it turns out that young women are leaving, too,” he said.Kedar suggested that changing family attitudes were also playing a role.Traditionally, he said, some Arab families have been reluctant to allow unmarried daughters to travel abroad independently, but as more young men leave, he argued, some families are increasingly willing to let their daughters emigrate as well.A Divided EuropeThe European Union remains divided over proposals to restrict trade with Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.Some member states have pushed for tougher measures following the International Court of Justice’s 2024 advisory opinion on Israel’s policies in the Palestinian territories.Germany, Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic have opposed a blanket trade ban.Under the EU-Israel Association Agreement, preferential trade treatment does not extend to goods originating in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.However, many products can still enter the European market under standard most-favored-nation tariff arrangements, depending on their classification.A 2019 European Court of Justice ruling requires food products originating in territories occupied by Israel to identify their territory of origin and, where applicable, indicate whether they come from an Israeli settlement.In July 2026, the European Commission presented trade ministers with options for further restrictions, including special export licenses for companies operating in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, higher tariffs on their products, and a partial or complete trade ban.Without agreement at the EU level, several countries have pursued or announced national restrictions on trade with Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.In September 2026, Britain announced plans to ban imports of goods from these communities and introduce targeted measures against individuals and entities involved in settlement expansion.The government said legislation for the broader restrictions was expected within six to nine months.France and Canada also announced plans to introduce national bans on settlement goods. Britain, France, and Canada welcomed measures already taken or being implemented by Ireland, Spain, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands.Meanwhile, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden pledged support for further action but have not yet announced equivalent bans.The post Israeli experts warn settlement trade restrictions could cost Palestinian jobs, fuel emigration appeared first on World Israel News.