Key Points
Israeli operation freed workers trapped in al-Zaayem village
Passports were seized by Palestinians blocking entry
16,000 Indian laborers arrived in Israel in 2024
Rescue conducted by Population and Immigration Authority
In a post on X, the Indian Embassy in Israel stated, "Israeli authorities traced 10 missing Indian construction workers to West Bank & have brought them back to Israel. While the matter is still under investigation, the Embassy is in touch with the Israeli authorities & have requested to ensure their safety & well-being."
https://x.com/indemtel/status/1897690679691649084
As many as 10 Indian workers were rescued overnight from a West Bank village where they had been held for over a month, The Times of Israel reported, citing the Population and Immigration Authority.
According to the authority, Palestinians had lured workers to the al-Zaayem village of the West Bank with promises to provide work and then seized their passports and attempted to use them to enter Israel.
The overnight operation led by the authority, along with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and the Justice Ministry, was conducted to rescue workers who had come to Israel to work in construction, The Times of Israel reported. The workers have been taken to a safe location until their employment status is determined.
The IDF detected the illicit use of the passports and later returned them to their owners. As per the report, some 16,000 labourers have arrived in Israel from India in 2024 as part of an Israeli government initiative to fill a void after tens of thousands of Palestinian construction workers were banned from entering Israel after Hamas's attack on October 7, 2023.
