Israel at war. The labor shortage has arisen due to the suspension of Palestinian workers' employment in Israel, affecting various sectors of the economy. According to estimates, the construction sector is currently lacking around 80,000 workers, agriculture needs approximately 15,000 workers, industry requires about 22,000, and the restaurant sector needs around 24,000 workers, among others.
Barkat visited India in April and initiated this move during his meeting with the Indian Minister of Finance, Piyush Goyal. He has recently addressed his request to the Israeli Minister of Internal Affairs, Moshe Arbel, and the Minister of Labor, Yoav Ben-Tzur, to increase the quota for foreign workers.
Minister Barkat wrote, "Given the ongoing wartime emergency situation and the severe and acute labor shortage, especially in industries where Palestinian workers have been declining, we urgently need to increase the quota for foreign workers in Israel. In line with my guidance, the main industries in the economy have collected demands with a requirement for approximately 160,000 foreign workers.
"I request that you advance the handling and arrangement of this matter within the framework of a decision proposal that will be submitted for government approval, in parallel with addressing the opening of international channels for bringing in foreign workers. This approval is urgently needed for the sake of Israel's economy, to ensure the functional continuity of the economy and the ability to promote the economic recovery and rehabilitation immediately after the end of the war period."