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. |