Israel to bring in 65,000 foreign building workers to replace Palestinians

Reuters
Sun, February 4, 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.

(Reporting by Steve Scheer; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)