Israel wants to hire 1,00,000 Indians to replace Palestinian workers

Since the Israel-Hamas War broke out in Gaza, Israel's construction industry has been facing a significant labour shortage.

To tackle the problem, the Israeli Builders Association, an industry body, has reportedly requested permission from the Israeli government to hire up to 100,000 Indian workers to replace the 90,000 Palestinians whose work permits were canceled following the October 7 surprise attack by Hamas, reported Voice of America.

Negotiations underway

• Speaking to VOA, Haim Feiglin, Vice President of the Israel Builders Association, said that negotiations with India are currently in progress.
• The industry is eagerly awaiting a decision from the Israeli government to approve the recruitment of Indian workers to revitalize the construction sector marred by the war.
• Feiglin said, "We hope to engage some 50,000 to 100,000 workers from India to work across the sector and bring it back to normalcy."

However, there is no word from India's Ministry of External Affairs.

Impact of war

• Before the conflict, approximately 90,000 Palestinian workers were employed in Israel, making up roughly 25% of the workforce in the construction industry, the report revealed.
• However, since the outbreak of war, these workers have been prohibited from working in Israel as their travel stopped and permits got canceled.
• This situation has disrupted construction projects and exacerbated the labor shortage in the sector.

India-Israel agreement

• It's important to note that Israel and India had previously signed an agreement in May that allowed 42,000 Indian workers to seek employment in Israel, primarily in the construction and nursing sectors.

• The Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Temporary Employment of Workers in Specific Labor Market Sectors in Israel was initiated during Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen's visit to India in May 2023.