Hawzah News Agency (Occupied Territories)- A total of 24 Palestinians who entered occupied Palestine to work without the necessary permits have died in 2016, and 320 others have suffered various types of injuries because of a lack of proper safety measures and the greed of their Israeli employers.

The victims all died on Israeli construction sites, according to Nasser Al Qatami, the undersecretary of the Palestinian Labour Ministry.

“The high death toll and number of casualties can be attributed to the fact that Israeli employers do not care much about the safety of Palestinian workers and never provide them with the necessary safety measures on site,” Al Qatami said in a statement. “The main cause reported for the accidents was falling from a height.”

Israeli employers viciously discriminate against Palestinian workers.

“This is a systematic Israeli policy that violates the basic rights of Palestinian workers,” Al Qatami announced.

Israeli employers do not provide injured Palestinian workers with the necessary medical attention, and refer them back to Palestinian hospitals in the West Bank for treatment.

The vast majority of Israeli employers get away with not paying or short changing Palestinian workers, who then have no legal recourse against employers who enjoy legal immunity.

Further violations are met with hefty fines and imprisonment.

During 2015, a total of 27 Palestinian workers died inside occupied Palestine.