Members of the Knesset's State Control Committee toured the Levinsky Street area of southern Tel Aviv Wednesday and agreed that the massive influx of illegal immigrants from Africa has created a disastrous situation.
"It's frightening," said MK Edna Adato (Kadima). "It's a feeling of fear. A fear of losing control… It feels as if we are losing control, as citizens, over what is happening in these areas."
MK Uri Ariel (National Union), who heads the committee, called the situation "a catastrophe" and said that the government should treat the neighborhoods where the infiltrators live as disaster areas.
MKs Ophir Akunis (Likud) and Shakib Shanan (Independence) also participated in the tour.
A senior police representative who accompanied the MKs said that there are over 55,000 infiltrators in southern Tel Aviv alone, and that crime in all categories has increased fivefold in the past three years.