If the factories were to close, 3,000 Arabs would be unemployed.
Minister of Industry, Trade, and Labor Eli Yishai (Shas) toured the Barkan Industrial Area in Samaria Tuesday and assured the head of social services, Chaya Shechner, that he would try to create professional training for the residents in the area. To date, the closest government-sponsored professional training courses are located in Holon, south of Tel Aviv, which is very far from most Samarian towns.
Representatives of the Samaria Regional Council said that they are unable to meet the needs of factories who want to set up shop in the region. In response, Minister Yishai promised to look into the creation of a new industrial area.
At least half of the workers in Barkan are local Arabs. In recent months, Peace Now activists have protested the manufacture of Israeli products in Judea and Samaria, in places like Barkan, which is east of the Green Line. However, Samaria regional council spokesman David HaIvri noted that if the factories were to close, 3,000 Arabs would be unemployed.
When asked why unemployed Jews of Samaria could not be replacements for the 3,000 Arabs, HaIvri told Israel National News that many residents of Samaria have five or more children. They feel that the typical take-home pay as a factory worker would be insufficient and that they need higher-paying jobs in other sectors.