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Undocumented Palestinian workers detained by Israel police in July 2017. (Credit: Israeli police) Published by Maan News
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BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces have detained nearly 100 undocumented Palestinian workers across Israel in the past week, Israeli police spokeswoman Luba al-Samri said on Thursday.

Al-Samri said that 98 Palestinians were detained over the span of a week, adding that 44 remained in police custody, while the others had been released back to the occupied Palestinian territory.

She added that 19 people, the majority of whom were Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, had also been detained for driving the undocumented workers into Israel, employing them, and providing them with places to live.

Al-Samri went on to say that 21 shops had been closed by Israeli police for employing undocumented Palestinians.

Tens of thousands of Palestinian workers are forced to seek a living by working in Israel due to crippling unemployment in the West Bank, as the growth of an independent Palestinian economy has been stifled under the ongoing Israeli military occupation, according to rights groups.

The crackdown on undocumented workers has typically come in the form of Israeli police raids inside Israel or Jerusalem on work sites or residences where workers or staying, while preventative Israeli army raids in the West Bank are less common.