Israel has decided to import 10,000 workers from India for jobs that are traditionally held by Palestinians, South Asia Index reported.
The decision was taken after Israeli authorities signed an agreement with the Government of India.
Israel is also planning to import 42,000 Indian labourers in next three years, in a bid to replace Palestinians labourers, said the report.
Half of these workers are destined for the construction sector, with the remaining half designated for nursing roles.
The Population and Immigration Authority in Israel said that the “incoming workers from India are diligent, experienced and fluent in English.”
They are expected to meet the growing demand for labour in Israel, specifically in the nursing and construction fields.
As part of the efforts to reach this agreement, a multi-ministerial mission visited India last March to work on a blueprint for employing workers in the nursing and construction sectors.
The delegation toured training centres and asked Israel to provide training to the workers before their arrival.
The spokesman for the Ministry of Population and Immigration stated: “We expect the agreements to be approved shortly, and we will soon be able to start setting up the necessary mechanisms to employ skilled labour in a proper and supervised manner."
Despite Palestinian workers’ vital contribution to the construction sector in the Israeli market, “security incidents, military escalation, and the absence of a political solution make the reliance on workers from India – unaffected by security situations on their way to work – an attractive and highly significant factor for the Israeli economy,” Israel’s Hebrew website said.
