65,000 South Asians to replace Palestinians
Israel to bring in 65,000 foreign building workers to replace Palestinians
Yahoo News • February 5, 2024
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Israel’s government said on Sunday it would bring in 65,000 foreign workers from India, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan to resume construction stalled since Oct. 7 when Palestinian workers were sent home in the wake of the attack on Israel by Hamas.
Some 72,000 Palestinian workers were employed on construction sites in Israel prior to the attack, which prompted the government to lay them off and exclude them from Israel for security reasons.
Some 20,000 foreign workers remain but almost half the country’s building sites have been closed down due to the labour shortage.
A housing ministry spokesperson said new groups of foreign workers were expected to arrive in coming weeks as the government seeks to avoid a blockage in supply that would risk reigniting real estate prices as interest rates start to fall.
Indians queuing in long lines for jobs in Israel as the war with Hamas grinds on say the risks to their safety are preferable to hunger at home.
Recruiters are aiming to fill a labor shortage in Israel exacerbated by nearly four months of fighting against Palestinian militants in Gaza.
While India is the world’s fifth-largest economy and one of the fastest growing, it has struggled to produce enough full-time and well-paying jobs for millions of people.
For the hundreds of Indians in line, almost all men, the chance of a skilled construction job in Israel — and wages up to 18 times higher — outweighs their fears.
“If it is written in our fate to die, we’ll die there — at least our kids will get something,” said motorbike mechanic Jabbar Singh, among the packed crowd at a training center and recruitment site in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state. “It’s better than hunger here.”
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