The government Cabinet discussed a proposal Sunday to inject more foreign workers into the hi-tech sector.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in his opening remarks that while new sectors of Israel’s population are being trained — including the hareidi-religious and Israeli-Arab populations — the government is still considering permits for foreign workers.

The decision, he said, would “aid in the continued growth of the high-tech sector in Israel. The demand is enormous and the supply of workers is small,” he explained. “We are using various means to increase the supply of trained high-tech workers. We have turned to populations that have not been involved in high-tech until now, such as the ultra-orthodox and of course our Arab citizens.

“We are also trying various means to train our young people, also in mathematics, computer and science studies – this will take time.

“In the meantime, we are interested in assisting the absorption of a limited number of expert workers, who could help in passing the standardized exams in order to ease the absorption of workers with unique know-how.

“The Cabinet will make it possible for their spouses to stay in Israel and work here legally,” he said.

“This is what is being done in the Silicon Valley in the United States, and this is giving them considerable strength and, of course, it doubles employment for the local population in the United States. We will do this here as well,” he said.

The Israeli government approved on Sunday a new law described by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a bill to “increase and strengthen enforcement in the field of planning and construction.”

Dubbed by some as the “law and order bill,” the law is also being called the “one state, one law” bill, a measure Netanyahu says is intended to equalized enforcement of the laws across all populations.

“Our government is investing considerable resources in developing the Arab sector – economic development, education, transportation, housing solutions and other issues,” the prime minister said in opening remarks to the weekly cabinet meeting.

“Alongside all of these, we are working to create a reality of one state with one law; law and order for everyone, without exception. This is desirable and the time has come for it to be so in the State of Israel.”

One of the issues that may be addressed by this bill is the rage invariably provoked when police enforce demolition of illegal structures that are built by Arabs.

Illegal structures built by Jews are also demolished, and those demolitions provoke equal rancor but generally are completed with far less violence and danger to the engineers and/or security forces involved in the operation. Moreover, there are far fewer illegal structures built by Jews, and fewer Jewish squatters. The difference in the numbers and the response to enforcement of the laws is one of the driving forces behind the creation of the law.

A new division was also created in the Israel Police earlier this year with an eye towards law enforcement in the Arab sector.

This past April, Israel Police Chief Roni Alsheikh appointed the department’s first Muslim deputy commissioner-year-old Gemal Hakrush, the highest-ranking Muslim ever to serve in the force.

Hakrush heads a new Israel Police division to deal with law enforcement in the Arab sector, which comprises 20 percent of the nation’s population and where customs and culture codes are different, with Israeli police held in deep suspicion. In some areas, they are simply outright feared or hated, with Israeli Arab police officers considered “traitors.”

The police will be prohibiting Jewish foot traffic to and from the Kotel via the Muslim Quarter from Shabbat evening until 1:30 AM on Sunday.

Last year, Arabs stabbed 2 Jewish boys that were on their way to the Kotel from Damascus Gate (Sha’ar Shechem) on Shavuot night .

As Ramadan coincides with Shavuot this month, police feel they will be unable to protect Jewish pedestrians, and it will be easier to simply not allow Jews into the area with numerous Muslims.

On Shavuot night, it is traditional to learn all night, and then walk to the Kotel for morning prayers at sunrise.

Arab terror suspect Ala’a Ziwad may lose his Israeli status in the wake of a recent decision to revoke or not renew the residency of anyone who harms the security of Israelis or the state.

Ziwad is charged with four counts of attempted murder and possession of a knife for racist purposes after having carried out a vehicle ramming attack at the Gan Shmuel junction near Hadera last October.

The terrorist has confessed to deliberately ramming his car into two IDF soldiers and then stabbing two more people before he was stopped.

A 19-year-old female soldier and a 20-year-old male soldier were evacuated to the hospital in serious and fair condition respectively. The attacker also stabbed a 14-year-old girl and a 25-year-old man, left with serious and minor wounds.

Interior Minister Arye Deri said Sunday on his Facebook page he would not renew Ziwad’s father’s residency permit. He also said he would file a request with the Haifa District Court to start the process of revoking Ziwad’s citizenship: the terrorist’s mother is an Israeli citizen.

By Michael Zeff/TPS

An Israeli Arab Hamas activist was indicted in a Beer Sheva courtroom today on multiple national security charges, announced the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency.

Medhat Abu-Sneimeh, a 24-year-old resident of the Negev in southern Israel is facing 18 different criminal charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, membership in a banned organization, contact with an enemy agent and other national security offenses.

According to the indictment, Abu-Sneimeh voluntarily joined the Hamas organization in 2007 and has since received combat and weapons training by the terrorist group. During his Hamas activity, Abu-Sneimeh has participated in several attacks against IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians on the Gaza border, the indictment alleges.

Abu-Sneimeh’s combat record allegedly includes reconnaissance missions on IDF movements along the Gaza border, setting up explosive devices on the Israeli side, and even firing rockets and mortars into Israel from Gaza.

The Shin Bet and Israel Police investigation additionally revealed that as of 2014 Abu-Sneimeh has operated a smuggling tunnel connecting the Gazan and Egyptian parts of the border city Rafah. According to the indictment, the tunnel was used to smuggle military equipment, uniforms, and weapons to Gaza from Egypt. The smuggling activity stopped after the Egyptian military flooded the tunnel and destroyed it in early 2016.

By Michael Zeff/TPS

Jerusalem (TPS) – A young Israeli Arab who attempted to join the Islamic State terror organisation was sentenced to a fifteen-month prison term on Tuesday.

Fares Saritah, a 19-year-old resident of the Jerusalem neighborhood Kfar Akeb, pleaded guilty to the charges of “attempting to join an illegal organization and attempting to defect to an enemy state,” referring to the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS) and Syria, respectively.

In addition to the fifteen month prison term, Saritah was sentenced to a suspended prison term and a large fine.

“Based on the accused’s own plea and full admission I find him guilty of attempting to join an illegal organization,” said Judge Aharon Farkash in his sentencing.

The joint investigation by the ISA and Israel police revealed that Saritah allegedly convinced his two brothers to join the Islamic State as well, one of whom managed to leave Israel and join the terrorist group in Syria.

According to bill of indictment, in April 2015 Saritah left Israel with his brother and cousin and arrived in Istanbul planning to reach Syria through Turkey, a common pathway for radicalized Muslims attempting to join with the Islamic State.

However Saritah never got past the Istanbul airport, as his passport was expired. He then had to fly to Israel to fix his papers, where upon arrival he was snatched by the Israeli Security Agency (ISA).

By Alexander J. Apfel/TPS

One of the three Arab MKs who visited the families of terrorists last Tuesday who had murdered or attempted to murder Israeli civilians during the recent wave of violence attempted to justify the actions of the terrorists on Palestinian television yesterday.

Basel Ghattas was exposed by Palestinian Media Watch during an interview on Palestinian TV in which he appeared to demonstrate that the visit had more to do with supporting the terrorists than merely securing the release of their bodies as originally stated by the three MKs who visited the families.

“The day Arab MPs abstain from visiting Martyrs’ families who have lost their precious sons in the turmoil of the struggle against the oppressive occupation – they did not go to kill or attempt to kill for criminal reasons or illegally – the day we abstain from visiting Martyrs’ families, we will have to vacate our [parliamentary] chairs and leave the keys at home,” Ghattas said.

Originally, the three Arab MKs from the Joint List who visited the families sought to justify their visits by claiming that they were standing with the families in support of their campaign to pressure the Israeli government into releasing the terrorists’ bodies.

Indeed, following a decision taken by the Ethics Committee on Monday which banned Haneen Zoabi and Basel Ghattas from Knesset sessions and Jamal Zahalka for two months, the three issued a joint statement rejecting the decision and restated their primary goal being “the immediate release of the bodies held by the police even after this decision.”

Moreover, Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh also attempted to justify the visits on humanitarian grounds. “The meeting last week was humanitarian and moral. The bodies [of the terrorists] must be released and buried immediately. We must also denounce the Israeli government, which is holding the bodies in freezers,” he said at a Joint List meeting.