The Israeli Minister of Economics, Nir Barkat, seeks to pass a decision in the government in order to bring in 160,000 foreign workers as soon as possible, especially from India, to replace the Palestinian workers whose entry into Israel for work has been stopped by the occupation since the launch of the war on Gaza.

According to Barakat's plan, approximately 80,000 workers will be brought to the construction branch, 15,000 workers to the agricultural branch, 22,000 workers to industry, 24,000 workers to restaurants, and other workers to other branches.

The Minister of Agriculture, Avi Dichter, also met the day before yesterday, Friday, with the Vietnamese ambassador to Israel and discussed with him bringing Vietnamese workers to Israel. He stressed the importance of foreign workers remaining in Israel to work in agriculture in the “Gaza envelope” area.

It is noteworthy that a number of foreign workers, most of them Thais, were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood operation launched by Hamas fighters in southern Israel, on the seventh of this month, and a number of others were transferred to the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and the Population and Immigration Authority are working in exchange for foreign embassies to encourage foreign workers to remain in Israel despite the continuing war it is waging in the Gaza Strip, by granting financial incentives in the amount of 2,000 shekels per month for each worker.