JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israel will increase the quota of Palestinian construction workers permitted to enter Israel from 19,000 to 30,000 in the coming weeks, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

The Jerusalem Post, quoting an Army Radio broadcast, reported that the interior ministry prefers to employ Palestinians as opposed to foreigners because the Palestinians do not wish to settle in Israel.

Israel announced in June that it would deport migrants as part of a crackdown on foreigners without permits that has focused on Africans who enter across the desert border with Egypt.

Israel has launched weekly airlifts to send back South Sudanese, a small community in Israel compared to those from Sudan and Eritrea, who can more easily claim refugee status due to war and other hardships.

The summer witnessed street protests against migrants in the country where officials cite race-based concerns about demographics as important to maintaining a Jewish majority.