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New Delhi: Following the dispatch of the first batch of Indian construction workers to Israel, India urged Jerusalem to ensure their safety as there were signs of escalations of conflict in the region, The Wire reported.
The first batch of 60 workers left for Israel on Tuesday under an agreement between the India and Israel governments.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reminded Israel on Thursday at a weekly media briefing that the departed workers were sent to Israel as part of a mobility agreement signed between the two countries.
When Jaiswal was asked multiple questions about sending Indian workers to a conflict zone, he replied that the agreement predates the conflict and New Delhi is conscious of their safety. The government has urged the Israeli administration to ensure the workers’ safety and well-being, he said.
When the war broke out between Israel and Hamas in October, India organised evacuation flights to bring back Indian workers. But most of the 18,000 membered Indian community working as caregivers chose to stay back.
However, the Indian embassy in Tel Aviv advised citizens to leave the border region last month after a rocket from Lebanon hit the territory and killed an Indian national working in an orchard. The embassy asked the Indian community to move to safer places.
However, MEA did not answer the question of whether there was an exception in the agreement on Indian workers stationed at illegal settlements. The ministry spokesperson said that construction is happening in areas where relatively economic activities are happening, and obviously, those considerations are important.