Israeli police began to crackdown on Palestinian Authority Arabs illegally residing in the Tel Aviv region, with a wave of mass arrests on Wednesday.
The enforcement operation was undertaken following Tuesday’s murderous rampage in Jaffa. Bashar Masalha, a Palestinian Authority Arab living in Israel illegally, stabbed passersby in Jaffa, killing one and leaving a dozen wounded.
The victim murdered in the attack, Taylor Force, was a 28-year-old US Army veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who was visiting Israel to study global entrepreneurship for his MBA.
Israeli security forces reported a significant uptick over the past year in illegal residents from the PA living in Israel, particularly since the surge in terror beginning in October of 2015.
Since yesterday, Israeli police have already arrested hundreds of illegal residents.
In one incident, police in Herzliya found 12 illegal Arab workers at one construction site, NRG reported.
Another 11 were arrested in Bnei Brak and neighboring Ramat Gan. Dozens more were found and taken into custody across the Tel Aviv area.
Police also captured dozens of illegal residents outside of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. In the north, 25 illegal Arab residents were taken into custody Wednesday night, along with an Israeli citizen who allegedly aided them.