A ‘Palestinian’ illegal entrant over the age of 50 who enters Israel without a permit and is apprehended by security forces will not necessarily face prosecution — even if it is not the first time he has been caught. A court ruling issued in recent days has revealed a 2025 directive from the State Attorney’s Office under which, in certain cases, an indictment will only be filed after a third apprehension.
1+The directive, first revealed on The Open Studio, applies to ‘Palestinian’ illegal entrants over the age of 50 as well as those who previously held permits to enter Israel. In practice, members of these groups will not be prosecuted the first two times they are caught inside Israel without a permit. After a an earlier Knesset-related report on the same prosecution policy, a police prosecutions official explained that after Oct. 7 the general policy shifted toward indicting illegal entrants from the first illegal entry, but an exception remained: prosecution only from the third entry for people over 50 and for those whose Israeli entry permits had been suspended. The surrounding discussion explicitly concerns ‘Palestinian’ workers/entrants whose permits were frozen after the war.
1+The directive was adopted amid a severe shortage of available prison space and difficulties faced by law-enforcement authorities in dealing with the large number of ‘Palestinian’ illegal entrants entering Israel. According to the court ruling, the policy is based in part on an earlier decision from approximately a year ago and has now returned to the spotlight because of its practical implications for law enforcement on the ground. In practice, male ‘Palestinian’ illegal entrants who fall within the categories established by the directive may be caught inside Israel without authorization twice without facing an indictment. Only upon a third apprehension will criminal proceedings be considered.