The plan, defined as a pilot, will initially include a relatively small number of workers. Opposition to the return of workers comes from the extreme right-wing ministers in the government, who consistently claim that Palestinian employment in Israel should be permanently stopped and replaced with workers from India and other countries. The government’s decision to allow the entry of Palestinians which came after many delays, is a step too little and too late, but nevertheless it is a first step forward. This decision cannot be separated from the acknowledgement of the authorities that all the efforts to bring tens of thousands of workers from India and other countries failed.
The current humanitarian crisis of Palestinian workers who were left with no source of income and at the same time also the economic impasse facing Israeli employers who lost their workers, needs to be solved urgently.
It is important to clarify that the Palestinian Authority had not helped workers in any way and has no budgets to assist them in this critical moment. Moreover, PA officials refuse to stand against Hamas’ crimes and thus only strengthens the racist trends of Israeli ministers who claim that all Palestinians are Hamas.
MAAN will continue to support workers and raise the call for their return to their work places in Israel as the only rational option both for Palestinians and Israelis.
