"Prostitution in Israel is carried out under the most horrible possible conditions. There is no country in the world that does not have prostitution," Poraz said.

Poraz noted that as far back as 1977, the government established a committee headed by district court judge Hadassah Ben-Atto that recommended permitting prostitution in Israel and allowing women working as prostitutes to freely advertise.

All attempts to legislate the committee's recommendations failed, according to the interior minister.

Poraz responded positively to the request made by committee chair MK Zahava Gal-On (Yahad) to allow women to testify in court against those who employ them as prostitutes. The interior minister also authorized the granting of one-year residency visas to women who testify against their former pimps.

Gal-On said Poraz's "decision is an important precedent that will grant incentive to women to testify against pimps" and facilitate their imprisonment.