Woman promised job smuggled through Israel-Jordan border, forced into prostitution in Israel

Human trafficking gangs taking advantage of the war and frequent pauses in international flights have begun trafficking women via the Jordan route to Israel. These groups promise high-paying jobs of NIS 65,000 monthly and luxurious living in Israel, but they are eventually forced into prostitution and subjected to abuse. According to an investigative report by the Israeli outlet N12, official Jordan border points like the Sheikh Hussein Bridge are the route most used by the traffickers.

The victims are mostly taken from countries like Palestine, Eastern European countries, or African countries that are war-torn and facing extreme poverty. According to a report by the Assaf Association, an Aid organisation for refugees and asylum seekers in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, about 850 Ukrainian women have been forced into prostitution since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

An excerpt of the chat as reported by N12, “Right now, you can only enter through Jordan,” a trafficker posing as a recruiter told a Russian woman on Telegram, "You will need to purchase plane tickets to Jordan. We will finance a six-day stay in a hotel in Amman, which costs approximately $500, and we will also cover the cost of food and transportation to Israel. You must have at least $1,000 to cross the border."

In a similar incident in 2024, five South African women were rescued in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. They had been trafficked through Jordan, under the guise of pilgrims. Once in Israel, they endured imprisonment, physical abuse, and were coerced into prostitution.

Some of the survivors reportedly live on minuscule wages in Bat Yam, a neighbourhood in the south of Tel Aviv, known for its Russian communities. With the increased enforcement at the Egyptian border, trafficking rings are pushed to the Jordanian route. There are ads written in Russia that claim an 80 per cent success rate of crossing the Jordan border, and others bragging about having no issues with the security forces at the Jordan border.

In March 2025, an Indian national, Thomas Gabriel Perera, was killed while attempting to cross the Jordanian border. He had reportedly been offered a job in Israel by a fellow Indian national working in Jordan with a monthly salary of approximately NIS 14,550. In the case of the South African Women, ‘one woman was thrown naked into the street’ for perceived underperformance. Many report confiscation of documents, restricted movement, psychological trauma, and isolation from support systems.

There had been numerous documented cases of Palestinians being trafficked from the West Bank and Gaza to Israel. In January 2024, an IDF soldier was among 14 Israelis accused of trafficking Palestinian women into Israel. According to a report by the US Department of State, since October 7, the resulting displacement of residents in areas around Gaza, NGOs have reported the increased vulnerability of children to exploitation, including sex trafficking.

According to a report by Israel's justice ministry from 2020 to 2024, 326 official victims of trafficking were recognised, among them, 71 per cent were women, 40 per cent were sexually exploited, and 44 per cent endured slavery. Israel has laws against trafficking, like the 2006 Anti-trafficking law, which prevents human trafficking for labour and sex work. But the enforcement had been particularly feeble. Between 2017–2021, 789 investigations were launched, but only 155 indictments were filed. The anti-trafficking police unit was disbanded in 2011, significantly weakening the oversight.