Israel intends to import 70K foreign workforces to renew construction industry
(MENAFN) Jerusalem - In a bid to rejuvenate its stagnating construction sector following the attack by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7th, Israel is reportedly set to welcome approximately 70,000 foreign workers from countries including China, India, and other regions. The Al-Youm newspaper, citing insights from a government official, disclosed this initiative on Monday. Yehuda Morgenstern, the Director-General of the Ministry of Construction and Housing, elaborated further on this development in an interview with the Calcalist economic newspaper. He indicated that this decision represents an expansion of a previously established plan that had increased the quota of foreign construction workers from 30,000 to 50,000 in November.
The move to augment the influx of foreign laborers comes in response to a pronounced labor shortage that has plagued the Israeli housing sector. This scarcity was exacerbated by the restrictions imposed on approximately 80,000 Palestinian construction workers from entering Israel subsequent to the aforementioned attack by Hamas. Morgenstern underscored the gravity of the situation, highlighting that the deficit in the workforce has precipitated an escalation in the average construction duration for individual buildings within Israel. Specifically, he noted that the construction period has elongated to 34 months, marking an increase from 30 months recorded in 2021 and 27 months in 2014. Furthermore, in a bid to expedite the influx of labor, Morgenstern disclosed that around 20,000 of these foreign workers will be recruited without necessitating bilateral agreements with their respective countries of origin.
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