A senior source in Israel's construction industry insists that about 8,000 Palestinian workers from Judea and Samaria have recently, "furtively," as he puts it, received permission to enter Israel and are already working on the construction sites around the country and that 8,000 more are expected to enter soon. The same source, who directly employs some of these workers, claims that these are Palestinian workers who were employed in Israel in the past, and have now received new visas from the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).
Since the beginning of the war, the entry of Palestinian building workers, both from Judea and Samaria and from the Gaza Strip, has been prohibited, leaving a shortfall of more than 100,000 workers in the construction industry. Throughout the war, some politicians, including Minister of Interior Moshe Arbel have called for re-allowing the entry of Palestinian building workers, even if only partially, but the official position of the government to date has been a complete ban on the entry of Palestinian workers.
Now, according to the senior source, Palestinian workers are being brought into Israel in practice, in an ever-increasing stream. In this context, Channel 13 News correspondent Yossi Eli revealed about two months ago, that 2,396 businesses and factories in Israel hold entry permits for thousands of Palestinian workers, because they are "essential businesses."
However, the Israel Civil Administration resolutely denies all these reports and claims and insists they are not true. It says, "There is currently no approval for bringing construction workers into Israel."
In a related matter, "Globes" has previously reported that thousands of Palestinian building workers have been illegally employed in the territories since the outbreak of the war.
Building contractors tell Netanyahu to bring in 40,000 Palestinian workers
Today Israel Builders Association president Raul Srugo sent an urgent letter to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich claiming that the construction industry is "In its worst state ever." He warns about, "the expected collapse of the construction and infrastructures industry, if the government continues to conduct itself as it has been behaving - negligently, completely cut off from reality, and without management and coordination between government ministries.'
Srugo claims that due to the severe lack of manpower, and the fact that so far less than 2,000 new foreign workers have entered Israel, most building contractors will be behind schedule by 6-8 months in delivering apartments. "According to the provisions of the Apartments Seller Law, they must pay billions of shekels in fines to the apartment buyers for the delay," he writes and calls on the prime minister and minister of finance to decide on immediately bringing into Israel 40,000 Palestinian workers from Judea and Samaria, to work in the construction and infrastructures industry.
Srugo also wants a personal meeting with Netanyahu to discuss the situation. He writes, "After seven months in which no real strategic plan has been formed to resolve the crisis, which will inevitably lead to a housing crisis and a national infrastructure crisis in the State of Israel, I am personally addressing you as the Israel Builders Association president to please hold an urgent meeting with the heads of the construction and infrastructure industry in Israel, with the Minister of Finance, in order to present directly to you the seriousness of the situation and ways to get out of the crisis immediately."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 1, 2024.
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