† Determined by national law or regulation as hazardous and, as such, relevant to Article 3(d) of ILO C. 182.
‡ Child labor understood as the worst forms of child labor per se under Article 3(a)–(c) of ILO C. 182.

Children at Higher Risk

Children may be vulnerable to child labor in the agricultural sector, partly because the Palestinian Authority (PA) does not have jurisdiction or the resources to enforce laws in Area C’s agricultural fields and Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are administered by Israel. Some Palestinian girls from the West Bank are also vulnerable to being exploited for sex and labor in the West Bank and in Israel after family members force them into marriages with older men, in which they often experience physical and sexual abuse, threats of violence, and restricted movement.

Barriers to Education Access

The escalation of hostilities following October 7, 2023 has produced dire consequences for children in the Gaza Strip, where over 1.8 million people were internally displaced in 2023. As a result, 625,000 children were unable to access education in the Gaza Strip. Children have also faced increased barriers to education in the West Bank due to further restrictions on movement, military actions, and increased settler violence, with some schools moving to virtual classrooms. In the West Bank, long distances to schools, school closures, Israeli demolition and confiscation of schools, and attacks by settlers and harassment and detention by Israeli security forces at checkpoints prevent some children from attending school. Access to education is key to preventing children's engagement in child labor.

* No conscription in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip 
† No standing military in the West Bank

In the West Bank, under the terms of the Oslo-era agreements between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Israeli government, the Palestinian Authority has civil law jurisdiction in the areas of the West Bank designated Area A and Area B, which represent approximately 39 percent of the West Bank’s land area and contain approximately 94 percent of the Palestinian population. The Israeli government has full administrative and security control over the city of Jerusalem and Area C; the latter represents 61 percent of the West Bank’s land area and approximately 6 percent of the Palestinian population and the vast majority of the West Bank’s agricultural areas. Although the Palestinian Authority's laws apply in the Gaza Strip, along with Egyptian, British Mandatory, and Ottoman statutes and Sharia law, Hamas continues to exercise de facto control over security and other matters.

In 2023, the Palestinian Authority amended the child law to prohibit forced labor, child trafficking, and the commercial sexual exploitation of children. However, as the minimum age for work is lower than the compulsory education age, children may be encouraged to leave school before the completion of compulsory education. The Labor Law’s minimum age provision does not apply to minors who work for their first-degree relatives, which is not in line with international standards that limit the exception for family-based work to small-scale holdings producing for local consumption and not regularly employing hired workers. Additionally, there are no criminal penalties for recruiting children into non-state armed groups.

In 2023, 138 labor inspectors conducted 18,720 worksite inspections, finding 604 violations related to child labor and issuing 490 penalties of various types. It is unknown whether investigations into suspected cases of the worst forms of child labor were conducted, prosecutions were initiated, or perpetrators were convicted.

Research found no evidence that the Palestinian Authority established policies to address child labor.

For information about USDOL’s projects to address child labor around the world, visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/ilab-project-page-search
† Program is funded by the Palestinian Authority.

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