New Delhi: Amid reports that Israel is looking to hire more than 1 lakh Indians to replace Palestinian workers , the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday issued a clarification saying 'India has been working towards giving the citizens access to a global workplace'.
Addressing the weekly media briefing here on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "We have been working towards giving our citizens access to a global workplace... We are in discussion to try and get into mobility agreements with several countries".
"In Israel, already several workers (from India) are employed , especially in the caregiver sector... We have been discussing a bilateral framework in the construction and caregiver sectors. But this is a long-term initiative, I'm not aware of the specific requests as numbers that are floating", Bagchi said.
According to reports, tens of thousands of Palestinians in Israel have been suspended from their jobs since a Hamas-led attack on October 7 triggered a fresh war in Gaza. Many have also been deported in the ensuing days. On November 1, the Israeli construction industry requested permission from Tel Aviv's authorities to hire up to 1 lakh Indian labourers as replacements for the Palestinian workers from the West Bank.
It is pertinent to note that in May this year, the Indian government signed a bilateral agreement with Israel to enable the immigration of 42,000 Indian workers. As per a statement from the Israeli foreign ministry, 34,000 of these workers were intended for employment in the construction sector, and the remaining 8,000 were designated for nursing roles.
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson further said that India has provided 38 tonnes of humanitarian relief material to the conflict-hit Israel. "We have emphasized the need for the strict observance of International Humanitarian law. We have urged the parties ( Israel and Palestine) to de-escalate violence and work towards creating conditions for the early resumption of peace negotiations..".
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