'Illegals'

The Hebrew acronym is shabahim, literally translated as `persons staying illegally'. People with Palestinian ID cards staying in Israel without having the proper permits. They are the victims of the arbitrary policies governing the issuing of permits and of the total suspension of the family reunification schemes. When an `illegal' is caught, he is required to complete and sign a lengthy personal questionnaire, all in Hebrew, in which he will be asked a great many detailed questions about his stay in Israel including, for example, the names of those who employed him and where he stayed overnight, etc. On a separate page, he will be asked to sign an undertaking not to repeat his `offence' and must also post a guarantee of several thousand shekels. Getting caught a second time will land the `illegal' in jail.In Abu-Dis, the Military Police turn a blind eye to those slipping through from the Palestinian side of the `separation wall' into Jerusalem, but they wait in ambush to catch the `illegals' on their way home again.