Some 45,000 Arabs from “the territories” - Judea and Samaria - have moved to within pre-1967 Israeli borders in the past four years. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by an Israeli-Arab student who is “close” to the situation.

The study notes that the “immigration” began some two decades ago, but has increased significantly of late - mostly in an illegal fashion. Arabs from the PLO-controlled areas are permitted, under certain circumstances to live in pre-’67 Israel under “family reunification” programs. Most of the migration, however, is by entire families who move to various Jerusalem neighborhoods, or to Arab villages and cities in the Sharon and Galilee.

Dr. Yaakov Ben-Ami, a professor associated with this research, spoke about it with Arutz-7 yesterday - in place of the student, “who prefers to remain nameless for her own safety.” He said, “The number 45,000 is an estimate, but it is very realistic. Despite the law of 2-3 years ago restricting the use of the family-reunification clause, the numbers have not changed much; the phenomenon has merely become more clandestine.”

He said that the new residents include also Jordanians who want to improve their standard of living, and that they and the Yesha Arabs are “essentially laundered by the Arab localities.”

The student concentrated on the integration of the children of these illegal Arab residents from Yesha in public or private Israeli-Arab schools. The statistics on the number of new “immigrants” are based on data she garnered during the course of her work in Israeli-Arab schools, and from talks with mayors, other elected officials, religious figures and illegal migrant families throughout the country.

The researcher notes that the new residents receive free education and welfare services, even though they are actually here illegally. This is accomplished with the help of local Arab municipal officials in the areas in which they reside. In some cases, they receive the patronage of their relatives who are Israeli citizens, with whom they blend in or are included as family members.

The diligent student did not suffice with gathering the facts, but turned to officials for their response. In the Prime Minister’s Office, she was told that the Prime Minister’s Advisor on Arab Affairs had left the post, and that a replacement had not yet been found. A spokesperson for the Border Guard said, “I assume that there is immigration to Israel; it happens, and the phenomenon is known, but not its extent.”

Michal Yosefov, the Interior Ministry official responsible for Border Crossing Controls in the Populace Administration gave a similar response, as did several others. Shalom Goldstein, who is the Advisor to the Mayor of Jerusalem on Arab Affairs, said, “The number 45,000 appears reasonable. The municipal border line was unclear until recently, and this led to the immigration phenomenon. In the Negev, too: Bedouins marry women from Hevron and apply for Israeli identity cards for these women. The problem is dealt with very delicately because of the diplomatic ramifications.”

Dr. Ben-Ami summed up this point: “In all the conversations we had with various officials, not one of them had a picture of the full extent of the phenomenon. Not one of them gathers data on this or has a plan for dealing with it.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 9th, 2004 and is filed under news.