Israeli police discover 70 men packed inside garbage truck

Israeli police say they found about 70 Palestinian men hiding in a garbage truck as they tried to enter Israel, apparently looking for work.

The men were discovered on Monday at a checkpoint in the West Bank, north of Jerusalem, the Associated Press reported.

Footage from the scene shows the men packed into the truck, stacked on top of each other in the vehicle’s trash area.

The video shows police, some with guns drawn, surrounding the truck.

Within minutes of their discovery, officers removed them one by one as debris fell from the vehicle.

The 30-year-old Israeli man driving the garbage truck was arrested and questioned by police.

Israel’s Defense Ministry said the men were “trying to infiltrate central Israel” and were stopped at a checkpoint in the West Bank.

Authorities did not provide details on the motive for the attempted entry, but Ital Almog, a local police commander, described them as “illegal entrants,” a term commonly referring to Palestinians entering Israel in search of work.

Israeli police have routinely reported illegal entrants from the Israeli-occupied West Bank after Israel revoked tens of thousands of Palestinian work permits since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

The large number of men and grim circumstances of the garbage truck incident underscored the level of desperation and the lengths some are willing to go to.

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