Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli police said in a statement, we have arrested at least 250 Palestinian workers in the last 24 hours on charges of staying in the country without a work permit. The crackdown follows a stabbing attack carried out by a young Palestinian man earlier this week in the city of Jaffa. The attacker killed an American tourist and wounded nine Israelis.

According to Israeli figures, 30 percent of the 85,000 Palestinians employed inside Israel do not hold work permits. Palestinians who seek to work in Israel need a special work permit usually granted by the Israeli Civil Administration, in coordination with the Israeli Ministry of Labor, but such permits are difficult to obtain.

Immigration of a foreign workforce into Israel increased, primarily during both the First and Second Intifadas, as Israeli employers sought to replace Palestinian workers who were unable to come to work, due to severe Israeli restrictions on movement, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.