Last night (Sunday), the citizens of Israel received proof that a very right-wing government was indeed elected in Israel. This happened in two meetings on one issue: the return of workers from Judea and Samaria to work in Israeli territory – in the civilian cabinet and in the political-security cabinet.
For hours, one after another, the ministers presented reasoned positions for postponing the entry of workers in order to prevent further security risk, in the face of the demand by the defense establishment, backed by the National Security Council, for the entry of 28,<> workers out of <>,<> work visa holders in Israel.
Palestinian workers' protest at Tarqumiya crossing against wage reform (archive) | Arab networks
Netanyahu, who sought the recommendation of the civilian cabinet and the approval of the security cabinet ministers, was ultimately forced not to bring the proposal to a vote because an absolute majority of the ministers were against it. Not only that, but the ministers responsible for the construction, economy, and finance sectors expressed opposition to the entry of workers, who received overwhelming backing from the police commissioner, who was summoned to the cabinet and expressed strong opposition.
Prime Minister Netanyahu in the Security Cabinet (archive), photo: Haim Tzach/GPO
In fact, if there is no demand for the entry of Palestinian workers into Israel by the ministers in charge, the discussion did not clarify the need for their entry – except for the security effect that the IDF and COGAT tried to portray, as if not allowing the workers to enter Israel would lead to the burning of the territory in Judea and Samaria.
The absurdity was especially evident when, in the outline presented, it was recommended to bring in workers over the age of 35 only, in order to "calm" the area - but if tens of thousands of workers aged 20-35 are left in Judea and Samaria, what response does this give to the threats of "unrest" that will in fact remain in an area where half a million Jews live?
During the discussion, Finance Minister Smotrich, Economy Minister Barkat and Housing Minister Goldknopf expressed opposition to the workers' income. Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai also presented a security position against it, and in fact they placed Netanyahu – who wanted to bring the issue to a vote – in a politically and practically uncomfortable place. Netanyahu, who likes to tell his people that there is "only a wall" to his right, has discovered a long list of ministers who unanimously say "no" to the outline signed by the NSC under his responsibility.
Even if Netanyahu himself refrained from saying "I want to," the issue was brought up for discussion by his people and at his request. In the next stage, he will be required to bring the NSC personnel back with the army for another discussion in which new recommendations will be brought before the cabinet, and perhaps persuade otherwise.
At the moment, except for a few thousand workers who have been defined as essential, no further entry of workers will be permitted. At the same time, there are those who are working on another solution, and in the coming weeks, thousands of workers from the East will be brought to Israel.
In the meantime, the question of Palestinian employment in the West Bank will continue to bubble, and perhaps someone at the top will bring solutions to the discussion after the October 7th of Israel.
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