About 57,000 Jordanians are residing illegally in Israel, mostly in the northern parts of the Jewish state, an official was quoted as saying by Haaretz newspaper on Tuesday.
Deputy Public Security Minister, Gideon Ezra, warn that the increasing number of Jordanians could become a security risk.
Ezra, who asked for reports from border control stations on the numbers of Jordanians who entered the country and then when they left, calculated a difference of 57,000 between the number entries and exits over the last three years, said the paper.
"They enter with tourist visas for three months, or for shorter periods. A few seek family reunification, some marry Israelis and many disappear in the country," said Ezra, a former senior officer in the Shin Bet.
"They come to work like any foreign worker," he noted, adding that as opposed to foreign workers from China or Romania, they can become a security risk, like the Jordanian who, a few months ago, was involved in the bomb attack in Tel Aviv.
“Now the Public Security Ministry is looking into ways to bring down the number of illegal Jordanians here,” he said.
But Benny Fefferman, head of manpower planning in the labor and social affairs ministry, called the figure "totally illogical and groundless.” – Albawaba.com
