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"Meanwhile, Interior Minister Eli Yishai will chair a commission which between now and the end of May will study whether they should stay" in Israel, the statement added.
Some 1,200 Asian and African children born in Israel had faced deportation along with their parents on November 1 following a crackdown on foreign workers who have overstayed their visas and continue working in the Jewish state.
The fate of the children has struck a deep chord in Israel, which has absorbed millions of Jewish immigrants since its founding in 1948.
The children are, for all intents and purposes, Israeli -- they speak fluent Hebrew, know all the Jewish holidays by heart and celebrate them at school and consider Israel their home.
According to official figures, some 222,000 foreign workers live in Israel, including 107,000 who have exceeded the term of their work permits.
Israel started welcoming non-Jewish immigrants mainly from Asia in the mid-1990s to fill a gaping need for cheap labour in construction, agriculture and caregiving.
It issues work visas for nearly 30,000 foreigners every year, and many stay om once their visas expire.
However, Yishai, head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, remains adamant they should go. "We are not a safe haven, period. We should not damage the character of the Jewish state simply out of clemency."
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Some 1,200 Asian and African children born in Israel had faced deportation along with their parents on November 1 following a crackdown on foreign workers who have overstayed their visas and continue working in the Jewish state.
The fate of the children has struck a deep chord in Israel, which has absorbed millions of Jewish immigrants since its founding in 1948.
The children are, for all intents and purposes, Israeli -- they speak fluent Hebrew, know all the Jewish holidays by heart and celebrate them at school and consider Israel their home.
According to official figures, some 222,000 foreign workers live in Israel, including 107,000 who have exceeded the term of their work permits.
Israel started welcoming non-Jewish immigrants mainly from Asia in the mid-1990s to fill a gaping need for cheap labour in construction, agriculture and caregiving.
It issues work visas for nearly 30,000 foreigners every year, and many stay om once their visas expire.
However, Yishai, head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, remains adamant they should go. "We are not a safe haven, period. We should not damage the character of the Jewish state simply out of clemency."
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