The first 200 Thais to return to work in Israel’s agricultural sector will leave on Tuesday, Labour Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn said yesterday.
They are some of about 5,000 who will go to work in the country over the next two or three months, Pipat said.
Tel Aviv is seeking to recruit 10,000 foreign workers for its crucial agricultural sector and is offering 63-month contracts. The Thai workers are also being promised appropriate salaries.
The return by Thai nationals to work in Israel, which is still in conflict with Hamas, comes after assurances were offered by the Israeli authorities over their safety, the minister said.
At least 41 Thais were killed in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th last year. Since then about 9,000 Thai workers have been repatriated.
Thai officials recently visited Israel, to gather first-hand information about the situation, before deciding that Thai workers could return to the country.
“We are ready for Thai workers to return to work in Israel. Moreover, we are now negotiating to secure additional jobs in the construction and industrial sectors,” the minister said.
The ministry expects about 100,000 Thais will find work overseas this year, the minister said, adding that 67,000 are already working abroad, including in Taiwan and Japan.
Photo : Palestinians fill water from a standpipe erected in the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip on June 20, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group.//AFP
