As part of an enforcement activity carried out last week by the police, together with volunteers at construction sites and apartment renovation sites in Herzliya, northern Tel Aviv, and Glilot, illegal workers from Judea and Samaria were arrested, some with forged documents. Their employers were also arrested, for which administrative enforcement to close the businesses is being examined. This morning, an attack was carried out in Holon by illegal residents.
By Dror Nir Castel and Nimrod Buso, Nadlan Center
Last week, 19 illegal aliens and employers were arrested at construction sites and apartment renovation sites in Herzliya, north Tel Aviv, and Glilot. This was part of an operation carried out by the Yarkon District police in the Tel Aviv District in cooperation with internal security teams and volunteers of alert squads at apartment renovation sites and construction sites suspected of employing or lodging illegal residents.
As part of an enforcement activity carried out last week by the Glilot station in businesses in the Cinema City Glilot complex, in the Seven Stars Mall, and at a construction site on HaMaginim Street in Herzliya, the police arrested for interrogation 10 residents of Judea and Samaria, without residence permits, some of whom even had forged documentation, and their employer. As part of an enforcement activity carried out by the Tel Aviv North Station in apartments under renovation on Mota Gur, Kehillat Warsaw, and Daf Yomi streets, the police arrested five residents of Judea and Samaria without residence permits and their employers for interrogation. At this stage, the investigation into the employers continues, and administrative enforcement to close the businesses is being examined.
The Israel Police said: “Contractors and citizens who employ residents of the Occupied Territories without a residence and work permit endanger both themselves and the entire Israeli public, both from the security and criminal aspects. The Israel Police constantly carries out large-scale enforcement operations to locate and arrest illegal aliens, employers, transporters, and accomplices. The police’s activity is intended, first and foremost, to reduce the criminal and criminal activity.”
“Contractors have no choice but to employ illegal workers“
Since the outbreak of the Iron Sword War about 10 months ago, the construction industry has been experiencing a severe manpower shortage due to the prohibition of workers from Judea and Samaria continuing to work on construction sites in Israel. Until October 7, the sector employed about 100,000 Palestinian workers, constituting most of those engaged in “wet” construction work (formwork, ironwork, plaster and flooring). In particular, the renovation industry, in which reliance on workers from Judea and Samaria was particularly great, was particularly affected. These constituted about 90% of the employees. As a result of this hardship, cases of illegal employment of Palestinians residing in Israel without permits have increased.
In a discussion on the issue in the Knesset’s Committee on Foreign Workers, representatives of the contractors said that many contractors are forced to break the law and employ illegal aliens to survive financially. According to Meir Shemesh, a representative of the Scaffolding Contractors Association, at the hearing, “Thousands of illegal aliens enter Israel to work. The contractors have reached a point where they have no choice but to employ illegal workers. They pay wages with black money, and the state loses from it.”
However, this trend also carries a heavy security price since while the security agencies have the ability to supervise Palestinians who enter Israel to work legally, in the case of the IPS, no one turns to their approval. This morning (Sunday), we received a tragic reminder of the danger of employing prisoners, with an attack carried out in Holon by a terrorist from the village of Salfit in Samaria. As of this writing, two people are known to have been murdered in the attack – a 66-year-old woman and an 80-year-old man, and two seriously and moderately wounded.
