Bowing to pressure from building contractors, the government is now ready to allow foreign construction workers into Israel to replace Palestinian laborers who have been banned during the ongoing closure of the administered territories.
Labor and Welfare Minister Ora Namir, who previously said she adamantly opposed the idea, has now agreed to the measure, but still wants a much smaller number of workers than requested by the contractors.
The contractors, who met with a ministerial committee Wednesday, said they expected a decision to be issued Friday allowing some 10,000 foreign workers to be brought in.
This week, more than 4,000 Palestinian laborers from the territories were given permits to work in construction.
But not all of them showed up for work, apparently because other Palestinians have pressured them not to work in Israel proper until the closure is lifted entirely.
Representatives of the construction industry told the Knesset Finance Committee this week that they were incurring tremendous losses as a result of the cutoff of Palestinian workers and warned of a consequent rise in housing costs.
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