Israel Matzav

It's a start

Israel will begin implementing the “infiltrators law” in the coming days, meaning that people caught illegally entering Israel will be jailed for up to three years, the Population, Immigration, and Borders Authority (PIBA) said on Sunday.

PIBA spokeswoman Sabine Haddad said that the decision was already reached between PIBA and the Defense Ministry over a week ago, and that they are just waiting for the Defense Ministry to alter the warrants given out by IDF soldiers when they arrest illegal migrants. As of today the arrest warrants are good for 10 days and PIBA is waiting for the army to change them to make them valid for up to three years, Haddad said.

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Passed by the Knesset in January, the so-called “infiltrators law” allows Israel to jail illegal migrants for up to three years without trial or deportation. It also allows Israel to punish those assisting illegal migrants with prison sentences of between five and fifteen years. The law was an amendment of the 1954 Prevention of Infiltration Law, which was meant to stop the illegal entry of Palestinians into Israel.

When it goes into effect, the law should put an end to the current practice in Israel, where new migrants are arrested and held for ten days at Saharonim Prison in the South, where they are processed before being taken on a one-way trip to south Tel Aviv. Others who are released make their way to Eilat or Arad.

Labels: illegal immigration

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:11 AM