A bill to make illegal crossings from Israel to Arab countries equally punishable with infiltration into Israel from Arab countries passed its first reading today in the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament.
The hill, which has been introduced in the form of an amendment to the anti-infiltration law, would set a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment for illegal border crossings from Israel.
Deputy Defense Minister Shimon Peres said, in introducing the bill, that such illegal crossings were becoming an increasing problem. He disclosed that 536 Israelis crossed illegally to neighboring countries in the past three and a half years, including 136 during the past six months.
Mr. Peres said that the reasons for such crossings might be personal–a family quarrel, a desire for adventure or a wish to meet with relatives. But once an Israeli crossed over into an Arab country, the Israeli official said, he is usually used by Arab intelligence as a source of information.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
