New Delhi, April 3: As reported in the media, 60 Indian construction workers have left for Israel. The Israeli ambassador to India, Naor Gilon wrote in a tweet “Today we had a farewell event from the first batch of 60+ Indian construction workers going to Israel under the G2G (government to government) agreement. This is an outcome of hard work of many, including @NSDCINDIA (National Skill Development Corporation). I’m sure that the workers become ‘ambassadors’ of the great P2P (people to people) relations between India and Israel.”
The ongoing conflict in Israel with the Palestinians resulted in the death of an Indian national who was working near the northern border. Pat Nibin Maxwell, an Indian citizen, lost his life and two others were wounded in an anti-tank missile attack in an orchard in Margaliot, Israel on March 4. All three individuals were from Kerala. Pathrose Maxwell, father of the deceased, claims that the Israeli authorities prevented his son from relocating to a safer location.
The question that should be posed is why is the government risking Indian lives by sending them to a conflict zone. Is it from any pressure to please Israel? This goes against an earlier advisory by the government urging Indian nationals to steer clear of the conflict area in Israel. This issue must be taken up by the Opposition and labor unions in India.
