Sunday’s cabinet meeting saw the approval of a document outlining a plan that places limitations on illegal African migrants to Israel, designed to encourage them to leave the country. The document listed several problems caused by the recent influx of migrants, chief among them the concern for the safety of Israeli citizens.

African migrants in southern Tel Aviv – Photo: Gideon Markowicz

The document reads: “The multitude of infiltrators from Africa carries various negative implications: damage to the fabric of Israeli society, harm to the personal security of the country’s citizens, a rise in crime in areas with a high concentration of illegal infiltrators, damage to the job market, a reduction in available government resources, particularly a strain on the health, education and welfare systems, and a growing threat to the country’s societal resilience as well as a security risk.”

The plan is a continuation of the recent infiltration prevention law, which will be brought before the Knesset plenum on Monday for a first reading by Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar following a Supreme Court ruling on the issue in September.

The cabinet decided to establish a special police force in southern Tel Aviv, where there is a high concentration of illegal migrants. The force will comprise 130 police officers and is meant to reinforce the personal security of the area’s residents. It was also decided that the Defense Ministry will complete the construction of a detention center for infiltrators by mid-February 2014. The incentives offered to illegal migrants to leave the country will be raised from $1,500 to $3,500.

The Justice Ministry, the Public Security Ministry and the police will create a plan to enforce the ban on infiltrators sending money outside the country. Guidelines will now include all financial service providers, such as the postal bank, as well as authorities charged with the prevention of money laundering.

The cabinet decided to provide a 442 million shekel ($124 million) budget and 550 new government positions to deal with the issue of infiltrators.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “We are determined to remove tens of thousands of illegal migrants who are currently here, after we have reduced to zero the number of economic migrants entering Israeli cities. The steps we approved today are measured and necessary to preserve the state’s Jewish and democratic character and they will restore safety to Israeli citizens while following Supreme Court guidelines and international law.”

View original Israel Hayom publication at: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=13567