Chinese labour is actively and visibly contributing to the construction of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land. Ironically, this reality stands in direct contradiction to China’s own stated policy; a decade ago, it forbade Chinese construction crews from working in Israeli settlements.

Back to 2015, China signed a bilateral labour agreement with Israel that included a stipulation preventing Chinese workers from being employed in the Occupied West Bank. Notably, this condition was motivated by safety concerns rather than by a principled stance against the illegality or immorality of settlement construction. However, in 2016, these safety concerns appeared to have diminished when China acquired Ahava, a settlement-based company located in Mitzpe Shalem.

One year later, both countries signed another labour agreement to bring in 6000 Chinese construction workers to Israel under the same conditions. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon confirmed the deal was “based on the concern for the safety and security of the workers”. However, Chinese officials responded by stating that “the real issue was not safety, but China’s objection to construction in the settlements.”

One of the most striking examples is Adama Agricultural Solutions, a former Israeli company now fully owned by the Chinese state-run firm China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina). Amid the Gaza war, Adama mobilised its workers “to support farmers who have been suffering from a shortage of workers … [including Israeli] farmers in the south, in the surrounding residents of the Gaza Envelope and in the northern settlements”, according to a report in the Jerusalem Post. Quoted in the same report, a representative of Adama said: “The farmers of the country, and the farmers of the settlements around Gaza in particular, are the pioneers of our days and their continued work is necessary to maintain the security of the country.

This is not an isolated case. In recent years, several state-owned Chinese companies, along with other private Chinese firms, have invested directly or indirectly in Israeli settlements or companies operating within them.