By AFP
Nov 20, 2017
Israel has on sunday decided to deport over 27,000 Eritrean and nearly 8,000 Sudanese refugees. The UN refugee agency UNHCR has expressed concern over Israel’s decision to expel the refugees. Israel said any refugee should leave the country voluntarily or face deportation. It is believed that Israel has also reached an agreement with a third country (reportedly Rwanda) to take in each refugee for $5000 dollars. Despite the UN protest, Jerusalem says the Holot detention center should be closed once and for all.
Jerusalem – Israel’s cabinet voted on Sunday to close a migrant detention centre, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced an agreement to deport 40 000 Africans who entered the country illegally.
Ministers unanimously approved plans to shutter the Holot centre in southern Israel and gave migrants a three-month deadline to leave the country or face deportation, said the interior and public security ministries.
“The infiltrators will have the option to be imprisoned or leave the country,” the public security ministry said in a statement.
Israeli official figures from June 30 show a total of 38 043 African migrants in the country.
They include 27 494 Eritreans and 7 869 Sudanese and their presence in south Tel Aviv has raised discontent among Israelis there and elsewhere.
Large funds
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s vote, Netanyahu noted that after building a fence on the Egyptian border and deporting some 20 000 African migrants through various deals, Israel has reached the third stage of its efforts – “accelerated removal.
“This removal is taking place thanks to an international agreement I reached that enables us to remove the 40 000 infiltrators remaining, remove them without their consent,” he told ministers.
“This will enable us to close down Holot and allocate some of the large funds going there to inspectors and removing more people,” said Netanyahu.