Israel Planning to Crack Down on Illegally Employed Palestinians

The Israeli Labor Ministry announced plans Monday to crack down on Palestinians working in the Jewish state illegally and free their jobs for unemployed Israelis.

Spokesman Arye Pikel said the ministry is not trying to throw 45,000 legally employed Arabs from the Israeli-occupied territories out of their jobs.

“We want to end illegal employment of a further 60,000 Arabs working without social benefits or medical protection,” he said. “Since many Arabs would not want the jobs . . . if they became legal and they had to pay taxes, we want the jobs for Israelis.”

Israel’s overall unemployment rate is about 6% and is higher among young men completing their mandatory three years of army service.

Large, established textile firms and hotels generally declare Arab workers and pay taxes and benefits while employing them. Many small construction firms and farms employ Arab workers illegally to avoid such payments.

To discourage the hiring of Palestinians illegally, the government has offered to use unemployment benefits to increase the wages of Israelis taking such jobs.

Competition among Palestinians for illegal jobs is fierce because the wages are far higher than in the territories, and workers pay no income tax when they are not declared to the authorities.

The average monthly salary of a Palestinian in an illegal job is more than twice the legal monthly minimum after-tax wage of $445.

Shimon Peres, finance minister and deputy prime minister, told Israel Radio that expelling workers would cause economic problems and inflame the uprising.

“We are pushing them into a corner from which there will be more bitterness and resistance,” he said.

In another day of unrest, a West Bank Arab was killed Monday when a stone hit him in the head while he was driving along an Israeli highway.