Palestinian workers employed in West Bank settlements and factories earn less than half the minimum wage stipulated by law, a Knesset study revealed Tuesday.

According to the data compiled ahead of a planned meeting of the Foreign Workers Committee, many of the Palestinian workers receive no health insurance or are insufficiently insured for work-related accidents.

Committee Chairman, MK Ran Cohen (Meretz), called for the discussion after receiving complaints about Palestinian workers' conditions in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

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Some 18 thousand Palestinians are employed in the West Bank in the industrial, agricultural, construction and services sectors.

In order to receive a work permit Palestinians must carry a magnetic card issued by police and Shin Bet security services. Some 120 thousand Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip currently hold such cards, of which 22 thousand work in Israel.

Employers within Israel have quotas for the number of Palestinian workers: 13,500 in construction, 2,000 at factories and services sector, 3,500 in agriculture and 3,000 more in East Jerusalem and Atarot industrial zone in north Jerusalem. West Bank employers, however, are not restricted to quotas and can employ as many Palestinians as they want.

Palestinian workers earn an average of between 11 to 13 shekels an hour and sometimes work over 10 hours a day, according to workers' rights groups and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. Such conditions exist because laws cannot be enforced due to lack of manpower and means, such as bullet-proof vehicles, the study claimed.

Road safety laws and sanitation are not inspected properly because the official in charge of enforcement is employed on a part time basis and lacks the authority to fine businesses.

"Due to the many testimonies of infringement of Palestinian workers' rights by Israeli employers in the West Bank, it is worthy to probe whether employers comply to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor laws," the study recommends.