850 prostitutes deported from Israel

TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Some 850 foreigners who worked in Israel as prostitutes were deported in 2004, police said.

Ha'aretz said Police Superintendent Ra'anan Caspi told a Knesset committee the women were sent to their native countries such as Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Belarus and Russia.

Uzbekistan has replaced Moldova as the biggest exporters of prostitutes, Caspi said.

He estimated some 1,000 foreign prostitutes are still in Israel.

Israeli embassies in countries that provide most prostitutes warn young women against coming to Israel to work illegally.