In a desperate bid to earn a living, some Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are risking their lives to scale Israel’s separation wall, despite tighter security measures. Saher, a 26-year-old construction worker, is one such individual who attempted to cross into Israel to reach his job in the city of Rishon LeZion.
“I panicked, let go of the rope, and fell,” he recalled, describing the moment he dropped from the top of the wall and landed with multiple rib fractures.
The separation wall, which cuts through the occupied West Bank, is a concrete barrier that stands up to 8 meters (26 feet) high in some places. Before Israel’s war on Gaza began, about 390,000 Palestinian workers relied on jobs in Israeli territory, but after the war started, Israeli authorities revoked their work permits and forced them to leave.
Now, with crossing points closed and fewer smugglers willing to take people by car, many Palestinians have had only one perilous option left: to scale the wall.
Ahed Rizk, a 29-year-old construction worker, lost the use of both legs after falling from the separation wall during an attempt to enter Israel in mid-June. “Oh God, let me die and relieve me of this torment,” he said, lying on a bed in Ramallah Hospital. Rizk’s story is just one of many that highlight the desperation and risks faced by Palestinians who attempt to cross the wall.
Shaher Saad, the secretary-general of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), says Palestinians have been forced to attempt dangerous crossings for years. “Decades of high unemployment have left thousands with no choice,” he said. At least 35 Palestinian workers have died attempting to cross into Israel for work in 2025, according to Saad.
The Israeli government’s restrictions on movement and access to resources are designed to exacerbate inequality between Israelis and Palestinians, said Sari Orabi, a Ramallah-based independent political analyst and researcher.
“It imposes restrictions on movement and access to resources, forcing civilians to choose between hunger and physical danger,” Orabi said. This policy deepens social marginalization and increases dependence on aid, fostering a state of helplessness and poverty.
For many Palestinians, scaling the wall is a matter of survival. Otham al-Khawaja, a 37-year-old father of three, described how he tried to climb the wall in March and was shot at by Israeli forces.
He fell, breaking both of his legs, but believes he would have been shot had he not fallen. “Fear sometimes clouds judgement,” he reflected. Al-Khawaja underwent surgery to insert metal rods into his legs and was grateful to have survived. “God wrote me a new life,” he said.