Ten Indian construction workers were rescued overnight from a village in the West Bank, where they had been held for over a month after their passports were taken, The Times of Israel reported, citing the Israeli Population and Immigration Authority on Thursday.
In a statement on X, the Indian embassy confirmed the development, saying, “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.”
According to Israeli authorities, the workers were lured to the West Bank village of al-Zaayem by Palestinians with promises of jobs. Their passports were then confiscated, and attempts were made to use them to cross into Israel, The Times of Israel reported.
Workers travelled to Israel for construction jobs
The Times of Israel report added that the workers, who had initially arrived in Israel for construction jobs, were rescued in an overnight operation conducted by the Population and Immigration Authority in coordination with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Justice Ministry.
Following their rescue, the workers were moved to a secure location while authorities assessed their employment status.
The IDF reportedly identified the fraudulent use of the workers’ passports and later returned them to their rightful owners.
According to news portal Ynetnews, Palestinians had used the Indian passports to cross Israeli checkpoints more easily. Israeli forces intercepted some suspects at a checkpoint, which ultimately led to the recovery of the Indian workers, Ynetnews report said.
The Times of Israel report added that approximately 16,000 Indian workers have come to Israel over the past year to fill labour shortages in the construction sector. This shortage emerged after tens of thousands of Palestinian construction workers were barred from entering Israel following Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said that it had demolished two homes in Hebron, a city in the occupied West Bank, on Wednesday. The houses belonged to Palestinians accused of carrying out a deadly attack in Tel Aviv in October 2024, AFP reported.
In a statement, the military confirmed that its forces “destroyed in Hebron the homes of the two terrorists who attacked the Jaffa light rail station in which seven Israelis and foreign residents were murdered and 15 additional civilians were injured.”
The attack took place on October 1, 2024, around the same time that Iran launched a barrage of approximately 200 missiles at Israel in support of its allies, Hamas and Hezbollah.
Hamas, which has been engaged in a conflict with Israel since its October 7, 2023, attack, claimed responsibility for the Tel Aviv shooting, saying that it “coincided with the painful strikes… executed by Iran.”