Netanyahu wants inclusive solution for illegal workers
PM says solution needed for all foreign workers in Israel after Barak, Livnat object to deportation of kids
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he would attempt to resolve the issue of the soon-to-be deported foreign workers' children with "an inclusive plan that will solve the problem of foreign workers in Israel".
"It is forbidden to deport these children. There are less than 1,200 children. A solution needs to be found as soon as possible," said Livnat.
Netanyahu is slated to give his final decision in the matter later Sunday. He is expected to decide not to deport the children, but to tie this to a broader plan, which will include preventing the entrance of hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, and expelling foreign workers whose visas have expired.
It is still unclear whether the decision will be made by the ministers involved in the case, or by the prime minister and his advisors only.
The matter is expected to go through a committee of ministers and professionals, to decide on a general policy on foreign workers in Israel, including the children that come with them and reside in Israel illegally.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak supported Livnat. "We are opposed to the deportation of the children of foreign workers from Israel. This is an issue of humanity on which Israel as a Jewish state must take a moral stance according to its values," he said.
"However we recognize that the issue of foreign workers who come into Israel in an illegal fashion requires serious management in order to normalize it."
On Saturday Interior Minister Eli Yishai told Channel 2 that the government should force illegal aliens out of the country, as an influx of foreigners will bring drugs and disease into Israel.
"We will have, based on what the internal security minister said in the last discussion, hundreds of thousands of foreign workers coming in here with disease like hepatitis, tuberculosis, AIDS, and drugs," he said in an interview.
