By Pesach Benson • July 7, 2026
Jerusalem, 7 July, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s state watchdog warned Tuesday that the country is failing to adequately enforce its law against prostitution and protect victims of human trafficking, citing weak police enforcement, poor coordination between government agencies and gaps that could harm Israel’s international standing.
The report by outgoing State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman found that six years after Israel introduced legislation aimed at reducing prostitution by penalizing those who purchase sexual services, enforcement remains limited despite police intelligence identifying hundreds of suspected prostitution locations across the country. The State Comptroller, an independent public oversight authority, is responsible for auditing government ministries and evaluating the effectiveness of public policy.
According to Englman’s report, police closed only 13 suspected brothels in 2024, despite having information on more than 1,300 addresses believed to be linked to prostitution activity. Between 2022 and 2025, authorities shut down just 60 such locations.
Engelman said the findings reflected “significant under-enforcement” of crimes connected to prostitution and human trafficking, warning that the state was failing in its responsibility to protect basic human rights.
“The constitutional obligation to protect human dignity, freedom and bodily integrity is at the core of the state’s duties,” Engelman wrote. “The criticism raised deep gaps in the implementation of the law prohibiting the consumption of prostitution and concerns about significant under-enforcement of offenses related to prostitution and trafficking in women.”
Israel’s Prohibition of Prostitution Law, which took effect in 2020 and was later extended, focuses on reducing demand by fining consumers of prostitution while expanding rehabilitation services for those involved in the industry. The law was introduced after studies indicated that many people involved in prostitution had entered the field at a young age and were vulnerable to exploitation.
The comptroller’s review found that police enforcement against consumers has also declined. The number of fines issued fell from 3,004 in 2022 to 902 in 2023 and dropped further to 378 in 2024, before rising to 1,061 in 2025. The report noted that nearly all fines issued between 2021 and 2025 came from only three of Israel’s seven police districts: Tel Aviv, Central and Coastal.
Meanwhile, police districts that had accumulated intelligence on hundreds of suspected prostitution addresses, including Jerusalem, the North and the South, issued no fines during the reviewed period.
“The emerging findings indicate a gap between the police perception and the actual implementation for the purpose of law enforcement,” the report stated.
The audit also found major shortcomings in addressing online prostitution, which has become a central platform for advertising and arranging sexual services. Although authorities have recognized the challenge of digital platforms since 2018, the report said police have not developed sufficient technological capabilities or intelligence-gathering systems. Since legislation allowing the closure of websites used to promote prostitution was enacted, only 95 closure orders have been issued.
The report further criticized coordination between government bodies responsible for combating trafficking. Information from specialized health clinics, including Levinsky clinics that treated more than 3,400 people involved in prostitution-related situations in 2023 and 2024, was not consistently shared with police despite its potential value for investigations.
The watchdog also raised concerns over the treatment of trafficking victims. Disputes between the Population and Immigration Authority and the Ministry of Justice’s Legal Aid Division over residence permits have delayed assistance to victims and, according to government officials, may discourage victims from cooperating with criminal investigations.
Israel’s coordinator for combating human trafficking warned that inadequate protection measures could push victims back into prostitution and damage efforts to prosecute traffickers. She also cautioned that continued failures could lead to a downgrade in Israel’s ranking in the annual U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons Report, potentially resulting in diplomatic and economic consequences.
Engelman called on Israeli authorities to strengthen enforcement against trafficking networks and prostitution consumers and to improve protections for victims.
“Implementing the recommendations will help the State of Israel meet its moral as well as legal obligations,” he wrote.