The management of Levi Metal and Wood Ltd. is attempting to crush the unionization of its Palestinian workers in MAAN Workers Association by targeting union activists and firing employees.
Today, on October 7, 2025, MAAN is calling the Israeli Authorities to seize the moment for ending the war and open the gates for 200,000 workers who can be a force for economic recovery and peace.
Following is A field report by MAAN Workers Association on the plight of Palestinian workers from the West Bank who lost their jobs and were left without any support or social safety net since then.
Since 2019, Akram Suleiman worked at Fattal Hotels by the Dead Sea. A native of Dahariya near Hebron, the 60-year-old father of four grown up, married children viewed his job as sacred. Managing pools and spas offered him a dignified livelihood. He proudly showcased images from the hotel life in Ein Bokek (the Dead Sea Hotels zone), including his tenure certificate and an award of excellence, alongside shared meals with colleagues.
In July of this year, Dead Sea hotels began a process aimed at replacing qualified long-time Palestinian workers with migrant laborers. According to information recently received by MAAN – Workers Association, in addition to the dozens of Palestinian workers dismissed in July from hotels owned by the Fattal Group in the Dead Sea area, the company — along with other companies in the region — intends to dismiss many more.
At the end of May, a moving solidarity event was held at Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv, where for the first time, members of six groups of “Bees for Peace” from across Israel gathered. One group, however, was absent — the women of Jahalin.
This important report by Times of Israel journalist Nurit Yohanan sheds light on a forgotten crisis: thousands of Palestinian workers from the West Bank are barred from their workplaces since October 2023. Published 21 months into the Gaza war, the report—produced in collaboration with MAAN—provides a far-reaching account of these workers’ plight, while contextualizing the Palestinian economy’s heavy dependence on Israel.
