Israel drops plan to deport African refugees

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Israel said Tuesday it was dropping a plan to forcibly deport illegal African immigrants, after failing to find countries that would take them in, but added it would continue to repatriate them voluntarily.

The government had been working for months on an arrangement to expel thousands of mostly Eritrean and Sudanese men who crossed into Israel through Egypt's Sinai desert.

"At this stage, the possibility of carrying out an unwilling deportation to a third country is not on the agenda," the government wrote in a response to Israel's Supreme Court, which has been examining the case.

The migrants will again be able to renew residency permits every 60 days, as they were before the deportation push, the government said.

The migrants and rights groups say they are seeking asylum and fleeing war and persecution. The government says they are job seekers and that it has every right to protect its borders.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, March 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

Despite Tuesday's climbdown, the government said immigration authorities would still try to deport migrants voluntarily, drawing criticism from rights group Amnesty International.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said he would try to draft legislation that would allow the reopening of detention centers in Israel for the migrants.

The Supreme Court had previously struck down legislation that permits such detention and ordered the facilities shut.

Voluntary deportation

The fate of some 37,000 Africans in Israel has posed a moral dilemma for a state founded as a haven for Jews from persecution and a national home.

Around 4,000 migrants have left Israel for Rwanda and Uganda since 2013 under a voluntary program, but Netanyahu has come under pressure from his right-wing voter base to expel thousands more.

The government announced in 2015 a plan under which it would present migrants with 3,500 US dollars and the opportunity to leave on their own accord, or face indefinite imprisonment with eventual forced expulsion.

In early April, Netanyahu agreed to cancel the plan, saying a new agreement with the UN would allow 16,000 migrants to be transferred to "developed countries like Canada, Germany or Italy." In exchange, Israel would give residency to an equal number of migrants.

But the plan was swiftly dropped and Israel shifted efforts towards finalizing an arrangement to send the migrants against their will to Uganda.

Many migrant rights groups then petitioned the Supreme Court to block any such policy.

Criticism of the policy

Human rights groups have long condemned Israel for its immigration policy and treatment of Africans seeking asylum.

Amnesty welcomed Tuesday's decision but criticized Israel's plan to continue with voluntary deportations.

"In reality there is nothing voluntary about them. Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers agree to them under pressure,” said Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnesty deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Amnesty insisted Israel cannot transfer refugees to countries where they may be at risk and added it will closely monitor the deportations.

The UN has accused the Eritrean government of committing "widespread and systematic" crimes against humanity.

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters