One bill will enable deporting foreign spouses of Israelis, or prevent them from receiving permanent residency, if they are residing here illegally. The second proposes granting foreign workers' children and their families permanent residence as a prelude to naturalization.

The bills will be presented by Interior Minister Ophir Pines-Paz. Pines-Paz has been pushing in vain for legislation regulating the status of foreign workers' children since he entered office in January this year.

Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly objects to these proposals for demographic and economic reasons.

The first bill says that anyone who entered Israel or has resided here illegally will not receive a residency permit, unless his illegal sojourn derives from a mistake or circumstances beyond his control.

The interior minister may decide to grant a residency permit, but the alien will first have to leave Israel. Only then will the minister consider whether to let him back in. In any case, the alien will only be allowed back if he did not stay here illegally for more than a year.

Home health aides whose work permits have expired will be able to renew them in special circumstances. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 aliens are staying in Israel illegally.

Aliens staying here illegally will be able to obtain work permits in special circumstances, on condition that they entered Israel legally and have not been staying here illegally for more than four years.

Today foreign spouses or common-law spouses of Israelis are protected from deportation even if they are living here illegally. The Interior Ministry enables them to obtain permanent residency in a gradual process. According to the new bill, however, even married partners will not be allowed to stay in Israel. The bill stipulates that the interior minister will draft regulations to prevent harm to spouses who have already begun the process of regulating their citizenship.

However, illegal aliens who have been refused a residency permit will not be able to return to Israel and reapply for a permit, except after a certain period to be determined by the minister. Once the law is enacted, illegal aliens will not be able to legalize their status, barring certain exceptions, even if they are married to an Israeli citizen.

The second bill stipulates that the minister may grant permanent residency permits to children of foreign workers who were born in Israel and have integrated into Israeli society and culture. He may also allow their relatives who live in Israel to stay here.

The bill will enable the granting of legal status to some 2,750 children of foreign workers, as well as their parents and younger siblings, an estimated 5,500 more people.