Israel strengthens law against human trafficking

The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has voted to broaden and strengthen the powers of the anti-trafficking legislation in the country. NGOs estimate that there are approximately 15,000 people in Israel who have been trafficked into forced labour and thousands who are trafficked into sexual exploitation. Although the government estimates are much lower, they recognise that there is a problem which needs addressing. Involvement with human trafficking could now result in 16-20 years in prison.
MK Zehava Gal-On who drafted the law said;
“We are talking about an innovative, revolutionary, and precedent-setting law which deals harshly with traffickers of people and body parts. The law will provide law enforcement officers better tools to combat the phenomenon,”
“We knew that if we didn’t act now the problem would only grow to the point where we could not longer hope to battle it.”
Challenges remain in the fight in Israel against human trafficking, including a lack of funds and also poor cross-border communication, essential to bringing traffickers to justice. For more on this and related issues, please visit the Jerusalem Post, by clicking here. To watch video about human trafficking in Israel, please click here.