'We were scared to die': The West Bank workers hiding in bins to reach Israel

'We were scared to die': The West Bank workers hiding in bins to reach Israel Submitted by Jared Hillel on Mon, 07/06/2026 - 18:29 Cut off by Israel from the employment they once held legally, Palestinian labourers are risking arrest and gunfire to feed their families Israeli soldiers keep watch as Palestinians gather at the Qalandia checkpoint in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on 20 February 2026, to enter Jerusalem (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP) Off In April, around 70 Palestinian men climbed into the back of a rubbish truck, hoping to cross into Israel undetected and search for work. Quickly discovered at a West Bank checkpoint, the men were left to languish under trash bags for over two hours in sweltering heat, before being pulled out and detained by Israeli soldiers. Majd, a 37-year-old from Beit Furik, just south of Nablus, was one of the labourers crammed inside.