Socioeconomic cabinet votes against allowing return of West Bank Palestinian laborers

The 15-member socioeconomic cabinet votes against a proposal to again allow the entry of Palestinian laborers from the West Bank into Israel — which was halted upon Hamas’s onslaught against Israel on October 7.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, head of the socioeconomic cabinet, says in a statement that aside from Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, who abstained, all the other ministers voted unanimously against such a move.

He says the socioeconomic cabinet is recommending to the security cabinet not to approve any such move, saying, “We can and must advance alternatives that will provide a different solution to the economy.”

With most Thai laborers leaving with the start of the war, and Israel blocking Palestinian laborers from both the West Bank and Gaza, there has been a significant labor shortage in the agricultural sector.

“Money and building permits do not buy peace,” Smotrich says in a statement. “Whoever killed us when there was no money will kill us also when there is money. The security of the citizens of Israel comes first.”

According to Hebrew media reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports the move to allow West Bank Palestinians with permits to return to work, but it is not clear if he has a majority of support in the cabinet.