Police target hundreds of Palestinian laborers ahead of Passover
Police didn't focus exclusively on people.
By JPOST.COM STAFFBorder police officers in the A-Tur neighborhood of east Jerusalem(photo credit: AMMAR AWAD / REUTERS)
Israel Police arrested 569 suspects since Saturday in a massive operation aimed at reducing the number of Palestinian laborers throughout the country.In the campaign dubbed "Operation Biur Chametz," approximately 2,300 border police officers, volunteers and police officers raided dozens of locations within the green line. Biur Chametz refers to the process of cleansing a Jewish home of food that isn't Kosher for Passover before the holiday.Of the 569 suspects, 468 were Palestinian laborers working in Israel illegally, 17 were accused of harboring laborers, 24 were suspected of transporting and eight were suspected of employing. Two of the suspects were arrested on suspicion of flying a helicopter without a pilot's license.Police didn't focus exclusively on people: Eight kilograms of drugs were seized, along with four vehicles, 12 motorbikes, a generator and dozens of engines and engine parts.
