Israel creates plan to bring in more foreign workers in place of Palestinians

The Israeli Finance Ministry is creating a plan to replace Palestinian workers with foreign workers from abroad for construction projects in the country, the ministry announced on Sunday.

The Israeli government has been working to encourage and strengthen the residential construction industry since the outbreak of the October 7 war, the ministry said. They've noted the shortage of manpower in the field of construction.

The ministry noted that a grant was recently approved to them to issue a one-time payment to Israeli construction workers up to the amount of NIS 21 thousand.

Actions taken by Smotrich

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich asked Interior Minister Moshe Arbel to update the regulations defining the methods of paying foreign workers in the construction industry, which includes allowing the postponement of part of the payment to a foreign worker until the employee arrives in Israel. 

All of this is part of efforts to ease the process of importing foreign workers into the country and supporting their employers in response to inquiries from corporations and contractors.

Smotrich said, "We've reduced regulation and brought over 20 thousand foreign workers into the country since the beginning of the Gaza war. 

"Already in the first months of the war, I announced a tremendous incentive program for those who would enter the construction industry. The current activity of the construction industry is of national interest, and we will continue to assist it  while maintaining the economy and security of Israel."