International News

JERUSALEM, (APP/AFP) – The Israeli parliament
on Monday evening approved a tough new law to keep out Palestinian workers, as part of measures to quell a five-month wave of violence.
The Knesset said on its website that the bill sponsored by internal
security minister Gilad Erdan passed its third reading “by a large majority”.
While the workers themselves are already subject to arrest and
imprisonment, the new legislation strikes at Israelis who employ them and those who transport them.
Erdan said in a statement that with the passage of the new law “the
police can be expected to mount large-scale operations to seize illegal entrants and those who assist them.”
Among its provisos are that the Israeli employer of a Palestinian who
has entered the Jewish state without the obligatory — and hard to come by — permit, will face up to two years in prison.
That is in the case of one worker for a single day.
“Those who employ more than one illegal worker, or hire an illegal
worker for more than 24 hours, will face up to four years of incarceration,” the site said.