New Delhi/Tel Aviv: Concerns have been raised, both in India and Israel, after two Indian workers were assaulted in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon.
Two suspects have been arrested by the Israeli police. The Israeli Embassy in India said the perpetrators have been taken into custody and legal proceedings will follow soon, as reported by Zee News.
The Israeli media described the incident as a deliberate racist attack. Ashkelon is located about 50 kilometres from Tel Aviv and is situated near the Gaza Strip.
A video of the incident was released by Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, which termed it as a hate-filled racist attack. The footage shows at least two individuals being surrounded and attacked by a group. The incident appears to take place in a public park. Several people are seen confronting the victims while others are nearby.
The Hebrew caption accompanying the video described the attack as pre-planned and said it
was motivated by racism and malice, Turkey’s TRT World wrote on its website.
The attackers had coordinated the assault in advance through WhatsApp messages and then targeted Indian workers in the area, it was reported.
A political row has broken out in India after the release of the video. The Congress has urged the Narendra Modi government to step in. Party spokesperson Pawan Khera asked external affairs minister S Jaishankar on X to immediately confirm the condition of the injured workers and raise the matter with Israeli authorities. He also questioned whether Prime Minister Modi would take up the issue during his upcoming visit to Israel.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Modi will visit Israel next week and described his country as very popular in India.
The number of Indian workers in Israel has grown over the past year. In October 2023, Israel suspended work permits for thousands of Palestinian labourers. The move created a shortage in construction and other sectors. Recruitment drives then focussed on Indian workers.
In 2024, the Indian government advertised for 10,000 construction workers for jobs in Israel across at least two states, including Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
PM Modi first visited Israel in 2017. That was the first ever visit by an Indian PM to that country.