The Israeli military has rescued ten Indian nationals who were allegedly being held in a West Bank village in Palestine for over a month. According to the IDF, the ten Indian men, who went to Israel as construction workers, were being held captive in the al-Zaayem village.
The Indians were lured by Palestinians with promises of work and then had their passports used to cross into Israel. The matter came to light after Israeli forces intercepted some Palestinians at a checkpoint who had Indian passports.
The Indian workers were rescued in an overnight operation led by the Population and Immigration Authority, along with the IDF and the Justice Ministry, on Wednesday.
They have been transferred to a safe location until their employment status is determined.
¡°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 & has requested to ensure their safety & well-being,¡± the Indian Embassy in Israel said.
In recent years, thousands of Indians have travelled to Israel for work in areas including construction and agriculture. The construction sector in Israel was once dominated by Palestinian workers from both the West Bank and Gaza.
But this changed in October 2023, following the Hamas terror attack on Israel, after which severe restrictions were imposed on their entry.
Israel then looked towards countries, including India and Nepal, to fill the gap in the number of construction workers. According to Israeli media, some 16,000 Indians came to the country in 2024 alone to work in the construction sector there.
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