Israel to Replace 6,000 Africans, Palestinians with Foreign Workers

An Israeli minister put forward a proposal to bring Palestinian workers to work at construction and industrial sites in Israeli towns. (Reuters)
An Israeli minister put forward a proposal to bring Palestinian workers to work at construction and industrial sites in Israeli towns. (Reuters)
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Israel to Replace 6,000 Africans, Palestinians with Foreign Workers

An Israeli minister put forward a proposal to bring Palestinian workers to work at construction and industrial sites in Israeli towns. (Reuters)
An Israeli minister put forward a proposal to bring Palestinian workers to work at construction and industrial sites in Israeli towns. (Reuters)

Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved to bring in 6,000 foreign workers to work under official permits, which will effectively lead to the deportation of tens of thousands of African asylum-seekers.

The decision was made at the end of a cabinet session on Sunday after a heated debate that refused to grant work permits to Palestinian workers.

Negev and Galilee Minister of the Development Aryeh Deri, also one of the Shas party founders for Oriental Jews, had put forward a proposal to bring Palestinian workers to work at construction and industrial sites in Israeli towns.

“It is better and less costly for Israel to bring workers from our neighbors in the West Bank and even the Gaza Strip. They know us and we know them. They are close. While providing foreign workers with a place to stay and expensive working conditions, the Palestinians could return to sleep at home,” Deri explained.

“Many of them (Palestinians) are fluent in Hebrew. And bringing them here contributes to improving their economic and social conditions, and this helps us to improve security conditions for us and them.”

“Bringing the Palestinians, while expelling African workers, is more understandable for the countries of the world-- but expelling Africans and bringing workers from Eastern Europe will result in world countries accusing Israel of racism against blacks," Deri added.

“This accusation will not apply if we bring in Palestinian workers,” he suggested.

Israel needs 20,000 foreign workers by next summer. There has been a long debate within Israeli society about bringing workers from China, Europe or the Palestinian territories.



Israeli Forces Storm Major West Bank City of Nablus

Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)
Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)
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Israeli Forces Storm Major West Bank City of Nablus

Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)
Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)

Israel launched a large-scale military operation on Tuesday in the old city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, AFP journalists reported, with the army reporting injured troops and two Palestinians "eliminated".

Dozens of military vehicles entered the city shortly after midnight, an AFP journalist reported, after a curfew had been announced over loudspeakers the day before.

Military operations are focused on the old city, a densely populated area bordering a large downtown square where young men and boys gathered to burn tires and throw stones at armored vehicles.

The Israeli army said that one soldier was "moderately injured" and three others "lightly injured" when two Palestinians attempted to steal a soldier's weapon.

Troops opened fire and "eliminated" both Palestinians, the army said in a statement, using a term the military often uses when killing gunmen.

AFPTV footage showed Israeli soldiers standing in one of the old city's narrow streets, next to the bodies of two civilians.

Neither Palestinian medics nor the Israeli army confirmed the two deaths.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Tuesday that three people were injured from bullet shrapnel, four from "physical assaults", and dozens more from tear gas inhalation.

It added that many injuries had to be handled within the old city after its ambulances were blocked from entering.

Nablus is located in the northern West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.

The territory's north has been the target of a major Israeli military operation dubbed "Iron Wall" since January 21.

On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers entered shops to search them and arrested several people for questioning, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene.

The correspondent added that Israeli flags were raised over the roofs of buildings in the Old City that had been turned into temporary bases for Israeli troops.

Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, triggered by the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian movement Hamas on Israel.

At least 938 Palestinians, including fighters but also many civilians, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers or settlers, according to data from the Palestinian Authority.

During the same period, least 35 Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military raids, according to official Israeli figures.