The national security Committee, chaired by MK Tzvika Foghel (Otzma Yehudit), held on Monday a follow-up debate on the implementation of the Entry into Israel Law (Amendment No. 38), 2024. The amendment was legislated about a year and a half ago against the backdrop of a significant increase in the presence of illegal residents in Israeli territory. The law increases penalties, sets minimum fines, expands the liability of owners of vehicles that transport illegal residents, and imposes prison sentences, under a temporary provision (until May 2027), on individuals who house, employ, or transporter illegal residents. In addition, the law determines that an annual report on the issue must be submitted to the national security Committee annually.
committee chair MK Foghel said the presence of illegal residents in Israel has been proven to be among the most common causes of terrorism. “This issue creates a lack of public and personal security, and fear. No less important, it constitutes real harm to the sovereignty of the State of Israel,” he said.
Superintendent Yaron Kanter of the Israel Police’s Prosecution Division explained that several significant changes have occurred regarding the Entry into Israel Law. “We feel this in our daily work and in a dramatic increase from the standpoint of arrest policies and stricter penalties,” he said.
According to police data, as of September 2025, 116 indictments have been filed for offenses of housing and employing illegal residents, compared to 141 in 2024 and 117 in 2023. For aggravated offenses of housing and employing, 321 indictments have been filed as of September 2025, compared to 246 in 2024, 98 in 2023, and 72 in 2022. For transportation offenses, 734 indictments have been filed in 2025, compared to 491 in 2024 and 155 in 2023.
A senior official from the Israel Police’s Investigations Division said, “In offenses of transporting, housing, and employing, 3,500 cases were opened in 2024, and 3,469 cases in 2025. Some cases were closed due to lack of evidence.”
Superintendent Danit Greenstein, legal advisor of the Border Police’s Investigations and Intelligence Division, noted that there is a concentrated enforcement effort and increased activity on the issue of illegal residents, reflected in routine operations and targeted missions. According to her, since the beginning of 2024, 43,000 infiltrators have been identified, and 2,185 individuals who have either employed, housed or transported illegal residents have been investigated. “In the end, not all of these mature into indictments,” she said.
MK Amit Halevi (Likud) asked Superintendent Greenstein about the failure to prevent the phenomenon of illegal entry into Israel, citing a report pointing to the infiltration of 30,000 people. “There is no hermetic control over everyone entering. There are also aspects of forged residence and work permits. We are making maximum efforts to combat the phenomenon,” she replied.
An official from the State Attorney’s Office said, “Many times there is a tendency to apply special grounds more leniently when a very significant legislative change occurs, such as minimum sentences and very high fines. The courts have a period of adaptation, but there is a need to analyze rulings. Since the law was legislated, 115 appeals have been filed, of which 23 were state appeals.”
Erez Barel of the Land Crossings Authority said, “There has been no significant change despite the hard work. We find transporters of infiltrators who do not fit the usual profile, and entire infrastructures operate in this field—for example, an 85-year-old pensioner who is paid to transport infiltrators.”
committee chair MK Foghel concluded by saying that the phenomenon of infiltrators is a “suicidal phenomenon” driven by money. “Do the judges understand the significance of this? And that they must toughen the penalties for these offenses? Does the prosecution understand that it must request the maximum penalty prescribed? The administrative measures set in the law must also be implemented,” he said.
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