
The chairman of the Knesset Constitution Committee, MK Simcha Rothman, on Sunday evening posted a tweet praising the former Minister of Justice, MK Gideon Sa'ar, for his actions over the years in the fight against illegal infiltrators.
"They might be angry with me, they will say that I am naïve or that he should not be trusted," Rothman wrote, adding, "There are many disagreements between me and Gideon Sa'ar, but on the subject of infiltrators and how to treat the issue, he was always consistent and purposeful, and acted in an extraordinary manner."
"I really hope that, despite the differences, we will be able to cooperate on this issue, which is critical to the future and existence of Israel," he added.
Rothman's comments followed an interview Sa’ar gave to Ynet, in which he said that "the Supreme Court intervened in the immigration policy, and reduced the tools that the executive branch and the legislative branch wanted to put in place in order to reduce the phenomenon of illegal entry into Israel."
"The Holot Facility was definitely significant in keeping the infiltrators away from the city centers, but it also made an indirect or direct contribution to the voluntary departure of infiltrators," added Sa’ar.
"In the first months after I enacted the infiltrators law, there was an influx of voluntary departures of infiltrators. I think 4,500 in three months. After the first hearing at the Supreme Court, this trend stopped," he continued.
Sa'ar was asked if the judges of the Supreme Court were responsible for the situation in south Tel Aviv, and replied that "I was of the opinion, and I have not changed my mind, that on the issue of the infiltrators the court erred in its rulings and damaged the tools put in place by the other authorities. I have no doubt that if it weren't for these wrong rulings, there would be fewer infiltrators in Israel today.But of course, this is far from summarizing the failures in dealing with this issue."