Netanyahu: The Time Has Come to Expel African Migrants from Israel

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, announced that "the time has come to expel African migrants from Israel." His reference was to tens of thousands of African refugees and job seekers who have been held in a camp in the country. According to the Jerusalem Post, Mr. Netanyahu, during his cabinet meeting held on Sunday, November 19, called for "intensifying efforts" to remove this large group from Israel. Reports from media and human rights organizations in Israel suggest that Netanyahu's green light could mean the expulsion of at least 64,000 Africans from the country. This large group has come to Israel from countries such as Eritrea and Sudan in search of a better life, crossing the border from Egypt. One of the main reasons for the asylum and migration of this group was the war in the Darfur region of southern Sudan in 2012, after which the highest number of job seekers made their way to Israel on foot. Currently, tens of thousands are being held in a large open-air detention facility in the southern desert of Israel called the "Holot" camp under isolation conditions. Netanyahu's government approved a joint plan prepared by Interior Minister Aryeh Deri and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan to close the "Holot" detention center within three months. According to Israeli media, Netanyahu's government has outlined three steps to deal with African refugees: accelerating the construction of a wall on the border with Egypt to prevent job seekers from entering, immediate expulsion of 20,000 Africans who entered Israel in recent years, and reaching international agreements to expel other Africans. According to the Israeli government resolution, following the closure of the Holot camp, remaining refugees will be transferred to prison "without a time limit." The Israeli Minister of Public Security stated in the cabinet meeting that due to Supreme Court rulings that have prevented the expulsion of these individuals on the grounds of human rights, the Holot camp has become a "hotel." While the Israeli government approved the Deri-Erdan plan, human rights organizations in Israel and international bodies have criticized it. The Israeli Supreme Court recently deemed the intensification of pressure on refugees in the Holot camp illegal but supported the government's overall policy to prevent the entry of more refugees. Last summer, the Supreme Court prevented the intensification of restrictions against refugees and asked the government to consider their hardships from the countries they came from during expulsion, but following this ruling, a wave of criticism was directed at the then-head of the Israeli judiciary by government supporters. Israeli human rights activists say the Interior Ministry has rejected the asylum requests of tens of thousands of Africans without any processing, granting asylum to only two out of the first 30,000 cases in the recent period. The Israeli judiciary also acknowledges that only a few among the tens of thousands of African refugees have been granted asylum. A former prosecutor in Israel stated on Monday, November 20, to the army radio that it is likely that only ten of the African refugees' requests have been approved over the years. Israel grants citizenship to foreign Jews upon request, but in recent decades, it has allowed only a few non-Jewish foreigners and refugees to live in the country.