State Comptroller Reports Major Failures in Enforcing Prostitution Ban and Combating Human Trafficking in Israel

The State Comptroller's report published on Tuesday highlights significant failures in enforcing Israel's law banning the consumption of prostitution and combating human trafficking. Since the law's enactment in 2020 and its renewal in 2025, enforcement has sharply declined, with a 70% drop in fines issued between 2022 and 2023, and only 378 fines issued in 2024. Although fines increased to 1,061 in 2025, this remains 65% lower than in 2022. Enforcement is heavily concentrated in just three police districts, Tel Aviv, Central, and Coastal, and primarily carried out by only three police stations out of hundreds nationwide. Notably, no fines were issued in the South, North, or Jerusalem districts in 2024 despite known prostitution sites.

The police have identified over 1,300 suspected prostitution locations, many with medium to high reliability, but this intelligence has not translated into sufficient enforcement actions. In 2024, only 44% of human trafficking intelligence was acted upon, leaving more than half unused. The police also failed to meet their own targets for solving trafficking cases, cracking only two out of eight cases in 2022. From 2022 to 2024, only 60 brothels were closed despite intelligence on additional active sites. The national anti-trafficking unit employed just one officer as of July 2025, with other approved positions remaining vacant. Tel Aviv is the only district with a functioning dedicated moral crimes unit.

Israel had maintained a top ranking in the U.S. State Department's Trafficking in Persons report since 2012 but dropped to a mid-tier ranking in 2020 due to reduced investigations and prosecutions and issues related to foreign workers. The report warns Israel risks falling to the lowest tier, which carries extensive sanctions.

The report also severely criticizes the Population and Immigration Authority for bureaucratic failures, including demanding unusual guarantees for victims' return, issuing limited permits to women expected to testify (leading to their departure), and sending inspectors to verify if victims returned to prostitution. Disputes between the Authority and the Ministry of Justice's Legal Aid Department have resulted in appeals and lawsuits. The national anti-trafficking coordinator described the Authority's conduct as "unreasonable," warning it pushes victims back into prostitution and harms national interests.

State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman called on the Israel Police to operationally reform by increasing uniform enforcement across all stations to avoid selective policing claims, integrating mapping data and hotline reports into field operations, and collaborating with the Health Ministry to establish a secure system for anonymous information sharing from Levinsky clinics to identify active prostitution sites.