New Delhi: Talks are underway between India and Israel over getting construction workers from India to work in Israel, to fill in the shoes of many Palestinians who are not being able to report to work in Israel following the start of Israel-Hamas war on October 7. The number being negoitated between India and Israel is around 15,000 workers, The Wire has learnt from sources in the know of things.These talks, which are still in preliminary stage, is aimed at addressing shortage of manpower, as it is mostly Palestinians who work at the construction sites in Israel. Nothing so far has been finalised.Since the start of war, Israel has barred the entry of Palestinians who constitute workforce of several sectors in the country.Vice-president of Israel Builders Association, Haim Feiglin, told Voice of America News that Israeli construction sector has called on the Benjamin Netanyahu government to hire upto 1 lakh construction workers from India to take the place of 90,000 Palestinians whose work permits have been cancelled.As The Wire reported earlier, in July this year, India-Israel had signed an agreement for 42,000 workers, out of whom 34,000 workers would be brought into the construction industry. If the latest talks come to fruition, the number of Indian workers who would go to Israel for work in the construction sector will be in addition to the previously agreed 34,000 workers.Indian workers in Israel have been primarily involved in caregiving, accounting for a majority of the 18,000 Indian nationals in the West Asian country. The venture into the construction labour market in Israel has been relatively new for Indians.Feiglin says pressure has been mounting on mayors in various Israeli cities to address the manpower shortage in the construction industry. It is mostly, for now, Chinese workers are filling in the shoes of Palestinian workers, but to a limited extent.
