Local clients provide the bulk of the business and include minors as young as 13 and 14, according to interviews with more than 100 women conducted by the organization between 2000 and 2003.

"The involvement of minors points to the growing legitimization of the sex industry in Israel and raises questions about the link between the supply of women and the demand for their 'Eservices,'" the report states.

The document also refers to an earlier survey in which 43% of Jewish men agreed that trafficking of woman is "a natural occurrence that has always existed and will continue to exist."

According to a previous Knesset report some 3,000 to 5,000 trafficked women reside in Israel. The Hotline estimates that 1 million visits to these women are made each year by Israeli men many of whom are presumably repeat clients.

The report recommends further research on the sex industry in Israel and calls for amending the penal code to prohibit purchasing sex from trafficking victims, increased enforcement of rape, coercion, and other trafficking-related crimes, and prosecuting clients for civil damages.