Palestinians in the West Bank who live near Israeli settlements have discovered a new way to make a living.  VOA's Jim Teeple reports from the West Bank that some Palestinians now survive by picking through Israeli garbage. 

A West Bank garbage truck delivers trash to the landfill near Hebron

This is where we met 32-year-old Faris Raba'e, a father of five who supports his family on what he finds here and what he can sell at the nearby Yata market.  Faris makes between $5 and $20 a day from what he finds at the dump.

Faris Raba'e

The boys should be in school, but their families have sent them here instead.  "I am extremely exhausted by the time I go home. I make very little money but I am forced to be here," says one.

Faris Raba'e brings home items he has found at the dump and then sells them - his only source of income

Faris says he is a sick man. "I have two major health issues -- constant back pain and I also have a lot of problems breathing."

Once he collects his cargo, Faris brings it home to clean it.  Then he and his five children sort through the garbage, getting it ready to be sold at the nearby market.  Faris says his children suffer from asthma and today his wife, who is expecting their sixth child, is too sick to help. 

Faris says today business is good

Faris says today business is good.  Winter is coming and people need the shoes he has found at the Yata garbage dump – a dump that hundreds of Palestinians and their families depend on for their survival.