A controversial bill that would have increased the jail time given to employers
of illegal migrants from two to five years was postponed Wednesday due to the
opposition of the Kadima faction and Public Security Minister Yitzhak
Aharonovitch (Yisrael Beytenu).
The bill passed at the Ministerial
Committee on Legislation on Sunday and would have passed on a preliminary
reading at the Knesset on Wednesday. But Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz pressured
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to delay the vote.
Likud MK Ophir
Akunis, who sponsored the measure, slammed Kadima for the delay and vowed to
pass it next week.
“Residents of south Tel Aviv, Eilat and Arad cannot
wait for the intolerable situation around their homes to improve,” Akunis said.
“I expect Kadima MKs to come together next week and vote for this important
bill.”
MK Danny Danon (Likud) went further, saying: “The infiltrators
from Kadima are working for the infiltrators from Africa and acting as an
opposition part within the coalition.”
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