The Knesset Subcommittee on Foreign Workers discussed Wednesday the problem of infiltration by African laborers through Israel's southern border. Committee chairman MK Yakov Katz (Ketzaleh) said that tens of thousands of people have infiltrated from the Sinai desert and demanded that the government give explanations as to why the government is not building a border fence, as requested by the IDF and the Olmert administration. "Israel won't Be Sudan No. 2," he summed up.
Brig.-Gen. Harel Knafo, Head of the Southern Command Staff, told the committee that a fence would greatly reduce the number of infiltrators into Israel. Once a fence is in place, he explained, it would become much easier to hand down a clear set of instructions to soldiers patrolling the border that would include the right to open fire.
MK Yakov Edry (Kadima) said that “we [in Israel] take care of everyone except the State of Israel. The State of Israel has become one big region of neglect (hefker) and this needs to be said out loud.”
Eilat Mayor Meir Yitzchak HaLevi stated that he is under fierce attack by “various organizations” for fighting against the influx of infiltrators. “Lately my colleagues and I have suffered from statements about racism. They have declared open season on me and it is unbearable,” he said.