Thousands of women are being smuggled into Israel, creating a booming sex trade industry in Israel that amounts to over US$1 billion a year, a parliamentary committee said on Wednesday.
According to ynet, findings showed that some 3,000 and 5,000 women are smuggled to Israel each year and sold into the prostitution industry, where they are constantly subjected to violence and abuse.
The report, issued annually, said some 10,000 such women currently live in 300 to 400 brothels throughout Israel. They are traded for about US$ 8,000 – US$ 10,000, the report said.
The U.S. State Department ranks Israel in the second tier of human trafficking around the world, saying the Jewish State does not maintain minimal conditions regarding the issue but is working to improve.
Most foreign prostitutes in Israel come from Ukraine, Moldova, Uzbekistan and Russia and many are smuggled in across the Egyptian border.
