Israeli President Shimon Peres at the Weibo company, in Beijing, China. Photo: Amos Ben Gershom / GPO.

Haaretz – Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon’s plan to bring Chinese construction workers to Israel to accelerate home building has hit a diplomatic snag as Beijing conditions signing a bilateral labor accord on its nationals not working in West Bank settlements.

China’s condition, which it says is due to safety concerns rather than politics, has snagged implementation of a year-old cabinet resolution authorizing an increase in the number of foreign construction workers initially to 8,000 and later to 15,000. The extra workers are part of a range of government efforts to build more homes and bring down prices, but without an accord with China, the 8,000 target hasn’t been reached.

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