Immigration police rounded up dozens of illegal Sudanese workers in a massive raid along the hotel strip at the southern tip of the Dead Sea at daybreak Sunday.
Police were present to stop the first bus of workers from leaving at 5:30 a.m., said one hotel worker, who requested anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the media. Police also stopped every other employee transport that followed, and raided every hotel along the strip, which serves hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.
“They walked in the front entrance, talked to security and said something about the Sudanese people,” the source told Israel National News. “They only work in cleaning, and so security sent them down to the workers’ entrance, where they come in.”
The worker noted that about 70 Eritreans work in the hotel where she is employed and that “only the ones that are here illegally were picked up.” There are more than a dozen hotels on the strip at the Dead Sea alone.
Hundreds of refugees from the Sudan who infiltrated in to the country from Egypt in the past year had been hired “off the books” by the hotels at the Dead Sea, said the source. “They do hard work for less money and they are very strong,” she explained.
She added that three police officers were still present in the hotel, “waiting for the next bus of workers to arrive” and that they had told the hotel they would be in the area all day.
“They even took Ethiopians off the bus to check their documents,” she said. “They can’t seem to tell the difference.” The bus driver waited for the workers, however, so that those who were released would not be left stranded in the area. Public transporation to and from the Dead Sea is sporadic and there are no buses to Arad, the closest city, in the early-morning hours, other than those provided by the hotels for their workers.
On Sunday the tourism season at the Dead Sea officially began. March, April, May and June are especially busy months due to the influx of psoriasis patients who come for special treatments that are unique to the region.
The sunlight at the Dead Sea -- the lowest place on earth -- combined with the minerals in the air and in the water is known to drastically reduce the ravages of the skin disease, and there are thousands of people who come to Israel annually specifically in order to expose their bodies to the elements and thus keep their psoriasis under control.
In Europe, some government health insurance programs even cover the cost of a two-week stay at Dead Sea hotels for this purpose, according to hotel staff. Sunday's raid will not affect services at the more than 15 hotels along the strip, said the source.