Israel Seeks To Hire 1 Lakh Indian Construction Workers To Replace Palestinians

The Israeli construction industry has asked Tel Aviv's government to allow companies to hire up to 1 lakh Indian workers to replace the 90,000 Palestinians whose work permits have been revoked since the 7 October Hamas attack.

According to a Voice of America report from the West Bank, Haim Feiglin, vice-president of the Israel Builders Association, "Right now we are negotiating with India." We are awaiting an approval decision from the Israeli government. And we hope to hire 50,000 to 100,000 Indian workers to run the entire sector and restore it to normalcy."

India's external affairs ministry did not respond to questions about the report or say whether the government would allow Indians to move to a conflict zone for work while Operation Ajay (Israel's evacuation exercise) is still ongoing.

Work has been disrupted since October 7, according to Feiglin, because Palestinians make up roughly 25 per cent of the workforce employed by the Israeli construction industry.

While the war is being cited as the reason for seeking Indian workers, Tel Aviv has been on this path for several months. In May, it signed an agreement with India that will allow 42,000 Indians to work in Israel, particularly in the construction sector, which is experiencing a labour shortage, besides nursing. 

This was the first time that the Israeli construction industry had opened up to Indians, who had previously primarily served as carers. The agreement also includes nursing staff.

Before it was signed, this framework agreement had been in the works for over a year. In March, a multi-ministerial Israeli delegation visited India and toured training facilities throughout the country.