Gaza and West Bank Labour Cut-Off Drives Sri Lankans through Risky Routes into Israel

By Kelum Bandara   

With the cessation of labour flow into Israel from Gaza Strip and West Bank due to the conflict , human smuggling racketeers - some operating from Sri Lanka - try to thrive by sending employees through the illegal path and around 50 Sri Lankan nationals have been held up in Jordan in attempting to enter .   

A top source told Daily Mirror that people are smuggled into Israel from the locations such as Jordan , Yemen and Cairo in Egypt , and there are instances some Sri Lankans pay as much as Rs. 2.5 million to smugglers in seeking better paid work in Israel.   

Around 800- 1000 Sri Lankans have reportedly entered Israel at different times through the illegal path and work currently.   

“Escalation of fighting has opened up more opportunities for human smugglers . It is now difficult to bring Palestinian workers from Gaza and West Bank,” the source said.   

According to the source , some women who fell victims are even sexually exploited when they are held up in the hands of smugglers en route to the final destination.   

“These operators work in cohort with their agents in Sri Lanka . Local agents even do documentation work for illegal job seekers . They charge in part and keep passports to be released once full payment is done ,” the source said.   

Recently, the Israeli defence authorities arrested two such Sri Lankans.