Last update - 00:00 17/07/2007
Dichter: IDF, not fence, must halt refugees entering from Egypt
By Mijal Grinberg, Haaretz Correspondent
Public Security Minister Avi Dichter said Tuesday that catching infiltrators from Egypt has nothing to do with a fence, and that the Israel Defense Forces are the ones responsible for preventing people from illegally entering Israel.
Dichter made the remarks while touring the Ketziyot prison in the Negev. The facility will house the handful of African refugees, in Israel illegally, which the state plans to deport.
"A fence won't help since the infiltrators reach the border, sit and wait for IDF forces to come pick them up," Dichter said.
Last week, Dichter and the director-general of the Pulic Security Ministry announced their intention to create a "campsite" to hold the refugees until their deportation. One of the main purposes of the new site was to allow families to remain together.
Israel Prisons Authority had said that even though the refugees will be behind walls and barbed wire, the atmosphere of their accommodations will not resemble a prison: They will not come in contact with prisoners, but will instead be housed in air-conditioned trailer homes, and they will not be subject to head-counts and searches.