Despite a general ban imposed on the entry of Paleostinian laborers into Israel following the October 7 Hamas
...a regional Iranian catspaw,...attacks, tens of thousands of permit-carrying workers from the West Bank have been entering Israel on a daily basis, according to a new report.
Channel 13 news said a long list of Israeli businesses have managed to gain exemptions on "humanitarian" grounds, allowing them to employ workers, despite the work in question having little to no apparent connection to any pressing humanitarian need — including hotels, bakeries and furniture companies.
Some 150,000 Paleostinian workers from the West Bank and an additional 18,500 from the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
Strip used to enter Israel daily before October 7, but the permits were frozen by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi for security reasons following the devastating Hamas assault.
Far-right ministers including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have repeatedly objected to lifting the ban.
As a result, the economy has suffered a severe shortfall in manpower, with the construction and agriculture sectors particularly badly hit.
The ban on using Paleostinian labor imposed by the Defense Ministry and the army was meant to encompass almost the entire economy, but an exemption process was granted for hospitals, burial organizations, some essential businesses and other humanitarian necessities.
According to Channel 13, some 2,396 businesses and institutions have obtained exemptions, many of which cannot be described as having any humanitarian necessity.
Major Israeli companies such as food giant Osem, the Aminach mattress and furniture business, and the Berman bakery company have all managed to obtain permits to bring in workers.
Hotels, food producers, bakeries, a car mechanic, a window factory, an events production company and a trash processing company were all among those who’ve managed to obtain permits to bring in Paleostinian laborers.
The report said tens of thousands of Paleostinian laborers have been entering Israel to work as a result.
The IDF told Channel 13 that it was the Economy Ministry that was responsible for issuing the exemptions to the numerous businesses — but the ministry strongly denied
No, no! Certainly not!
that it was responsible.
"The only authorized agency that can approve the entry of [West Bank] workers into Israel is the [Defense Ministry’s] Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories in accordance with the policies of the government," the ministry said.
Neither the Defense Ministry nor COGAT, an agency of the Defense Ministry, responded to a request for comment.
The Economy Ministry said it was "firmly opposed to allowing Paleostinian laborers in to work in Israel and is working to bring in laborers from peaceful countries."
Indeed, Economy Minister Nir Barkat clashed recently over the issue of foreign workers with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing the premier of delaying a cabinet decision that would allow the arrival of larger numbers of foreign workers to replace Paleostinian laborers.
A source in the Economy Ministry said that the so-called economics cabinet, comprised of several senior ministers and government officials, was empowered to determine which businesses could get exemptions to the ban, but that the panel had not authorized the thousands of businesses who have obtained permits for Paleostinians workers since October 7.
Last week, an Israeli business community leader said businesses were "generally in favor" of bringing back Paleostinian workers, largely due to the major shortage in manpower due to the ban.
"Today, we are talking about a slowdown of almost 50 percent in activity in [the construction] sector," Dan Catarivas, president of the Israeli Federation of Bi-national Chambers of Commerce, told AFP.
"But there is also a big lack in what we call ’essential’ businesses such as food, pharmaceuticals, maintenance of sanitation infrastructure for example," he added.