Police Nab Dozens of Illegal Arab Workers

Police went on an area-wide crackdown in the Tel Aviv area against illegal Arab workers. A total of 31 illegal workers were arrested, 13 of them in Bnei Brak. The illegals were picked up at a variety of sites, including construction sites, restaurants and marketplaces.

Several of the illegals had previously had valid work permits, while others had entered Israel illegally. The illegals were arrested and questioned, and returned to Palestinian Authority-controlled areas. The employers of the illegals are subject to stiff penalties, with fines of tens of thousands of shekels, suspension of business licenses, and in some cases criminal charges.

In a statement, police said that it “will continue to invest efforts and resources to prevent this phenomenon, by conducting actions to locate illegal workers, who are often involved in criminal and terrorist activities.”

Overnight Tuesday, security officials said they arrested 14 wanted security suspects in other areas in Yehudah and Shomron. The suspects were wanted for participating in rioting and throwing stones and firebombs that endangered Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers. Several of the suspects were also charged with belonging to Hamas. All were being questioned on their activities by security forces.