Illegal workers
Illegal workersNati Shochat/Flash 90

The Knesset plenum today approved an amendment to the Entry into Israel Law calling for tougher punishment for those who bring illegal persons into the country.

63 MKs supported the proposal and only 14 opposed it.

According to the proposal, the temporary order dealing with illegal transportation offenses will be changed to a standing order, the penalty for the offense will be changed, and provisions regarding the administrative revocation of a driver's license will be set for periods commensurate with the severity of the offense.

In addition, it was proposed to extend the validity of temporary provisions regarding minimum penalties for lodging offenses and employment of illegals. It was also proposed to establish a mechanism that allows for an administrative restriction order or a judicial restraining order to ensure compliance with the terms of the order.

The explanation of the law states that "the security and social reality in Israel shows that illegal transportation offenses are common offenses whose perpetrators prefer their own economic wellbeing over public safety, thereby endangering it."

"Moreover, the phenomenon of assisting illegal residents with transportation has become very sophisticated, and there are currently a few transporters in Israel whose aim is to facilitate illegal entry into Israel, and the main incentive for their activity is economic."

It was also explained that "due to the familiarity of the illegal residents with Israel, the ways in which they enter Israel, and their ability to assimilate into the population, they are an attractive target for recruitment and operation by terror elements and a convenient means of promoting terrorist activity."