10,000 Indian construction workers head to Israel in weekly batches

02 Feb 2024 CW Team

After the October 7 conflict with Hamas, Israel's construction sector faced a severe manpower crisis. Around 10,000 workers from India are set to arrive in Israel, starting next week.

A source from the Israel Builders Association (IBA) mentioned that these workers would arrive in batches of 700 to 1,000 per week. The conflict with Hamas, which occurred a little less than four months ago, led to a ban on the entry of Palestinian workers and the departure of several thousand other foreign workers. Consequently, the Israeli construction industry found itself in a deep crisis, causing delays and halting ongoing projects.

In response to the crisis, Israel increased the quota of foreign manpower for the construction industry from 30,000 to 50,000. The Israeli government approved the arrival of 10,000 workers from India, as reported by the Israeli business daily, The Calcalist, in a report last week. The IBA source confirmed the accuracy of the details in The Calcalist report.

When questioned about the arrival of the first batch of workers, the source expressed hope that they would arrive the following week. The workers are part of the private recruitment track, approved by the government alongside the bilateral (inter-governmental) track to facilitate the swift recruitment of workers into the construction industry.

Furthermore, the IBA is exploring the hiring of workers from other countries such as Mexico, Kenya, and Malawi. The screening of workers began three weeks ago in India, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan, as part of the recruitment process.

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