A group of approximately 240 members of the Bnei Menashe community , from India, landed in Israeli territory on April 24, in the initial phase of the so-called Operation Wings of Dawn , a government initiative designed to expand illegal settlements in occupied territories and replace Palestinian labor.

This contingent is the first step in a plan valued at 90 million shekels (30 million dollars) , which envisions the annual importation of 1,200 Indian citizens with the goal of reaching a total of 6,000 by 2030. The measure seeks to replace Palestinian workers, whose access has been blocked since the beginning of the aggression and genocide in Gaza.

The immigrants, who claim descent from one of the so-called lost tribes, are subjected to mandatory Orthodox conversions . This requirement allows them to qualify under the Law of Return , a legal framework that grants citizenship on religious grounds , in a country that systematically denies displaced Palestinians the right to return to their ancestral lands and denies rights to those living in Israel.

Authorities confirmed that new flights have been scheduled as part of Operation Wings of Dawn . An additional 600 migrants are expected to arrive in three waves over the coming weeks, in a process of continuous expansion. Most of this group will be sent to absorption centers in Nof HaGalil.

The displacement of the Palestinian workforce

Since October 2023, Israel has maintained a large-scale blockade against Palestinian labor. This policy has resulted in the dismissal of more than 100,000 workers in the occupied West Bank who depended on these jobs for their livelihoods. Before the blockade, Palestinians made up almost 30% of the construction sector .

To reverse the paralysis of key sectors during the genocide in Gaza, the Israeli government accelerated the hiring of foreign workers. By mid-2025, the number of Indian workers hired exceeded 20,000, primarily in the construction sector.

A bilateral agreement signed between India and Israel in February 2026 furthered this strategy. The pact sets the goal of relocating up to 50,000 additional Indian workers within five years to consolidate the permanent replacement of the Palestinian workforce.

This policy of labor displacement and territorial expansion is unfolding against a backdrop of systematic violence against the civilian population in the occupied territories. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that, so far this year, at least 16 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli settlers.

These figures add to a tally of more than 1,150 deaths at the hands of military forces and settlers since the beginning of the current chapter of the genocide in Gaza, in October 2023, consolidating a scenario of extreme hostility that accompanies the consolidation of the new settlements.