This chapter focuses on the experiences of workers from Bayt Hajjar who made the short trip over the Green Line that marked the 1949 Armistice Line between Israel and the West Bank. Work in Israel promised far higher wages than were available in the West Bank as well as the protection of Israeli labour law. However, at the same time, many of these workers crossed over to Israel ‘illegally’ and those who did have work permits did so with considerable apprehension, as the promised benefits of Israeli law often went unfulfilled. This mixture of potential legal protection and fear ran through the working lives of the village's residents, whether they had permits or not. Although the Green Line was porous and relatively easy to cross, West Bank Palestinians in effect took it with them whereever they went. They were never seemingly fully inside the spaces of Israeli legal protection.

Every morning as the sun rose, dozens of white Ford minibuses would gather in the centre of the Bayt Hajjar. The streets of the village would fill with men buying their food for the day at the snack stalls scattered around the edge of the main square before they climbed into the back of the waiting buses. The sweet smell of fried falafel would mingle with the acrid smoke of cigarettes as the bus drivers waited for the vehicles to fill up. The passengers would sit there quietly, wiping the sleep from their eyes or fidgeting with their packed lunch.