Security sources are concerned that Israel’s foreign workers could be recruited by terrorist organizations to facilitate attacks on Israelis, according to a Maariv report. The concern stems from the fact that recent figures show many of the workers are Muslim and have increasingly chosen to reside in Palestinian Authority controlled areas.
The fear is that while some Muslim workers may be ideologically driven to assist in terror attacks, the greater danger lies in terror groups using large sums of money to dupe workers into participating in terror attacks. The workers, many earning minimum wage and hiding from immigration authorities by living in the P.A. would take the money in return for performing seemingly innocuous tasks – such as delivering a package to a busy thoroughfare – unintentionally carrying out potentially fatal attacks.
Police in Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) believe that there remains a likelihood that terror groups could recruit such workers. “The fatal combination of fast, easy money, and the mobility and sometimes sheer innocence of foreign workers, could lead to the next attack”, a senior officer from the Sharon region told Maariv. “We are discovering more and more connections between foreign workers and terror and we must do something before it is too late.”
IDF intelligence has begun to monitor the movements of foreign workers through checkpoints leading in and out of P.A. controlled areas, with particular attention being paid to those who are Muslim. Statistics from the Interior Ministry indicate that there are thousands of Muslim foreign workers in Israel legally – and reports indicate many more illegally.
Government estimates are that about 180,000 of the 260,000 foreign workers in Israel are in the country illegally. Though most came with work permits, many overstayed their visas and others left harsh employers for illegal jobs and live in fear of arrest and deportation.
It is widely regarded that Israel’s unemployment problem would be greatly alleviated if foreign workers were replaced with Israeli citizens; with unemployment subsidies re-allocated to make the job that workers currently fill more financially desirable to Israelis.
The fear is that while some Muslim workers may be ideologically driven to assist in terror attacks, the greater danger lies in terror groups using large sums of money to dupe workers into participating in terror attacks. The workers, many earning minimum wage and hiding from immigration authorities by living in the P.A. would take the money in return for performing seemingly innocuous tasks – such as delivering a package to a busy thoroughfare – unintentionally carrying out potentially fatal attacks.
Police in Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) believe that there remains a likelihood that terror groups could recruit such workers. “The fatal combination of fast, easy money, and the mobility and sometimes sheer innocence of foreign workers, could lead to the next attack”, a senior officer from the Sharon region told Maariv. “We are discovering more and more connections between foreign workers and terror and we must do something before it is too late.”
IDF intelligence has begun to monitor the movements of foreign workers through checkpoints leading in and out of P.A. controlled areas, with particular attention being paid to those who are Muslim. Statistics from the Interior Ministry indicate that there are thousands of Muslim foreign workers in Israel legally – and reports indicate many more illegally.
Government estimates are that about 180,000 of the 260,000 foreign workers in Israel are in the country illegally. Though most came with work permits, many overstayed their visas and others left harsh employers for illegal jobs and live in fear of arrest and deportation.
It is widely regarded that Israel’s unemployment problem would be greatly alleviated if foreign workers were replaced with Israeli citizens; with unemployment subsidies re-allocated to make the job that workers currently fill more financially desirable to Israelis.