Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu caused outrage in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee when he spoke of a test-run to bring Palestinian Arab workers back to work in Israel.
Minister of Economy, Nir Barkat said, "It is a serious mistake to approve the return of Palestinian workers to Israel after October 7th. 170,000 workers from countries that have peace with Israel are just waiting for a government decision and they are ready to come to Israel. They pose no threat to the citizens of Israel."
"Don't repeat the mistake that preceded October 7 in bringing in Palestinians who receive a million dollars to murder a Jew. You can't buy security and quiet with money," Barkat told Netanyahu.
MK Moshe Saada questioned, "What does a test-run mean? We will wait to see if Jews are murdered and then decide whether to continue with this nonsense, or stop it for good? If the report is correct, I call on the prime minister to put a stop to this decision and not surrender to the "security experts’" claims. The shortage of workers can be easily solved with the help of foreign workers who are already standing in line and waiting to come to Israel. We must not return to 6.10 and we must not plan any ‘test-runs’ at the expense of Israeli citizens’ lives."
MK Dan Illouz added, "Once the dam opens, there will be no turning back. We all know how temporary becomes permanent and this turns into a disaster. On October 7th, we decided to free ourselves from our addiction to Palestinian workers and find alternatives. Yes, it is not easy to let go of an addiction, but we must not give up because giving up is dangerous. Instead of making an unequivocal, long-term decision not to accept Palestinian workers, a decision that will make it possible to build a worthy alternative to bring foreign workers here and provide a real solution for the economy, they continue to suggest dangerous attempts that harm our ability to develop a real alternative. We must not go in that direction."
The Prime Minister's Office said in response that "Prime Minister Netanyahu has not approved any test-run regarding the entry of Palestinian workers into Israel. On the contrary, Prime Minister Netanyahu was the one who promoted bringing foreign workers from abroad this week. Regarding the Palestinian workers, security officials requested a limited test-run and Prime Minister Netanyahu said that this would be presented for preliminary discussion to the cabinet.”