Israel has confirmed plans to begin deporting more than 50,000 African migrants via Uganda.
Israeli officials announced plans to soon begin deporting the migrants from Eritrea and Sudan back to Africa through Uganda, according to the Guardian.
Israel regards most of the Africans as illegal visitors in search of jobs, and largely rejects the position of human rights groups that many fled their countries in search of political asylum, the report said.
A statement late on Thursday from Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel would soon begin a staged process of deporting the migrants, most of whom have crossed the border with Egypt since 2006.
Sa’ar said an agreement had been reached with Uganda to absorb the “infiltrators,” who would soon be urged “to leave of their own free will.”
Sa’ar said the prime minister’s special envoy, Hagai Hadas, had obtained Uganda’s consent, Haaretz reported.
The chairwoman of the Israeli parliament’s committee on foreign workers, Michal Rozin, speaking by phone, said there were “rumors” that Uganda may have agreed to the arrangement in exchange for a deal for money and weapons.
A violation of human rights
According to Haaretz, Knesset Member Michal Rosin (Meretz) leveled criticism at the plan.
“The interior minister’s comments expose the government’s true intention: to transfer all asylum seekers in Israel to an unknown third country, the agreement with which is classified,” she said.
“There is no such thing as voluntary deportation when the alternative is the threat of jail and persecution by the authorities,” she added. “As a country that has signed the U.N. convention on refugees, it is our duty to make sure we are not forcing asylum seekers to return to danger zones.”
Human rights groups in Israel said on Monday that the campaign is in violation of United Nations policy.
Lawyers for the Hotline for Migrant Workers sent a letter to the Justice Ministry, documenting alleged abuses by Interior Ministry employees of the return policy.
In a letter to Deputy Attorney General Dina Silber, attorneys Asaf Weitzen and Nimrod Avigal claimed that jailed migrants are being told they will not be granted refugee status in Israel and will remain in custody unless they sign the forms consenting to leave the country, Haaretz reported.
Speaking of illegal visitors, ain't that the pot calling the kettle black!
I have read in other posts that they are only asking the blacks to leave because they are illegal. But, I question why, they are not doing the same with the illegal whites. I have also heard that Israel will give asylum to any person of Jewish faith. Many of these 50,000 do practice the Jewish faith. While illegal and legal, Jew and non-Jew whites are allowed to stay. Christmas Eve Israel destroyed Palestine homes. Another group that is not white.
Israel is choosing not to be a Jewish only state, but a lily white state.
Why do most African-American Evangelistic Christians still support Israel?
Do they agree that blacks (and Christians) are third class citizens compared to the white Jews (and non-Jews)?
There are 2 main ethnicities of jews, ashkenazie and sephardic/mizrahzi. They are spread equally, 50 50 among israels jewish population, and the mizrahzi are not at all whitew. They are half way between europeans and arabs/africans, a little lighter then the "colored ethnicity"" in south africa. There are a group of jews called ethiopian jews, who are ethnically jewish people from ethiopia, but these migrants from africa are not jewish and 90% of them come from places that are not war torn. ( Most come from sudan and eritrea). They are not doing it to the jews in the west bank, because they are citisens of israel. In the Israeli constitution, it is illegal to evict citisens of israel and expel them. Most of the jews in the west bank live around the border with israel, called the israeli crescent. They are by far the majority there, and it has already been agreed that that part of the west bank will stay with israel. The israelis who inhabit places called out posts in the middle of the west bank get thrown out and returned to israel within a year of the construction of the outpost. Israel is the only state in the world where demographic balance is life or death for the state. Without a jewish majority in israel, there would be no israel. It is the only country in the world with that situation. The palestinian issue is a whole nother story though, because they dont enter the west bank, they settle in internationally reckonized israel. I am an american citizen, and a left wing Bernie Sanders supporter. I am very pro immagration for the case of the united states, but it is very diferent when it comes to israel.