Mohammed Mar'i Saudi Gazette RAMALLAH – An Israeli Border Guard volunteer shot dead a Palestinian man on Saturday morning in the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva.
The Israel Radio said that the Palestinian man in his 20s was shot after attempting to stab one of the volunteers during an operation to seek out and arrest Palestinians residing illegally in Israel. The report said that the Palestinian was critically injured from the shooting and succumbed to his wounds at the scene. Shai Hakimi, Border Guard Spokesman, said that the volunteers were scanning the area near the Yarkon cemetery in Petah Tikva overnight in search of “illegal” workers. Hakimi said that 40 other “illegal” Palestinian workers were detained in the operation. Shaher Sa'ad, Secretary-General of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), condemned the “cold-blooded killing” of the man saying it is “part of Israeli criminal acts and escalation policy against the Palestinian laborers.” Sa'ad said that the Israeli measures against Palestinian laborers “constitute a blatant violation against human rights guaranteed by the international laws mainly the freedom of movement and work.” He urged the international community “to exert pressure on the Israeli government to stop such practices against the Palestinian laborers.” Israeli security forces have stepped up efforts to seek out Palestinians residing illegally in Israel since the killing of an Israeli soldier in November by a 16-year-old Palestinian youth “illegally” residing in Israel.
Two weeks ago, Israeli security forces arrested seventy Palestinians who entered Israel without proper working permits. The Israeli Radio said that the Border Police Guard officers and police officers from the Northern District launched the arrest operation in dozens of buildings and agricultural fields in which the Palestinians were believed to be hiding in the Arab towns of Shafa'amr, Kfar Manda, Shibli, Eilout and the Israel town of Har Yona, and other areas in northern Israel. The number of Palestinian workers Israel gives work permits has drastically dropped following the start of the Second Intifada in 2000 and the building of the separation wall. According to Palestinian statistics, around 25,000 Palestinians work legally in Israel. The estimated 30,000 Palestinians enter Israel for work illegally. The number of Palestinian workers in Israel reached 118,000 on the eve of Second Intifada. Israel says some 32,000 Palestinians earn their living inside the country and another 27,750 Palestinians work for Israeli employers in the West Bank. Hundreds of unemployed Palestinian workers risk their lives by creeping into Israel to look for jobs in the labor market as the rate of joblessness in the Palestinian territory hits 24.9 percent.
