The Union ministry of external affairs said that no discussions were held between Indian and Israeli authorities regarding the possible replacement of Palestinian workers with Indian workers in Israel. “The government has not made any discussions with Israel regarding possible replacement of Palestinian labourers with Indian workers,” Union minister of state for foreign affairs V Muraleedharan said while answering a question posted by Rajya Sabha member of parliament from the Congress party KC Venugopal.
A report published by news agency Voice of America in November said that Israel is reportedly looking to hire one lakh workers from India. The news agency citing people from the Israeli construction sector and industries said that they urged the Israeli government to allow companies to hire up to one lakh workers from India.
The report came days after Israel cancelled the work permits of Palestinian labourers in the wake of the October 7 attacks. Some 150,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and an additional 17,000 from the Gaza Strip had permits to enter Israel legally for work before the attacks, according to a report by The Times of Israel.
The war cabinet this week also skipped voting on a proposal to allow Palestinian labourers to enter Israel from the West Bank. This has led to an acute shortage of labourers in the construction and agriculture sectors of Israel.
Earlier in May, when foreign minister of Israel Eli Cohen visited India to hold meetings with counterpart S Jaishankar and other Indian officials, they signed a pact to allow the arrival of 42,000 Indian workers in the fields of construction and nursing in Israel.
According to the statement released by the minister, at least 34,000 workers will be engaged in the construction field and another 8,000 for nursing needs. The workers from India are expected to help deal with the rising cost of living in Israel and help thousands of families waiting for nursing care.
(with inputs from Shalinder Wangu)
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