Subscribe to Print Edition | Mon., May 19, 2008 Iyyar 14, 5768 | | Israel Time: 14:59 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Last update - 17:35 04/07/2007 Egyptian police fire at Sudanese refugees trying to enter Israel By Reuters and Shahar Ilan, Haaretz Correspondent Egyptian border police shot at a group of Sudanese refugees trying to illegally enter Israel, critically wounding one, a security source said on Wednesday. An Egyptian border patrol spotted the group of about 30 Sudanese refugees at the border, south of Rafah in northern Sinai Peninsula, and ordered them to stop, opening fire when they did not comply, the source said. Advertisement One Sudanese man sustained wounds to his abdomen, and was being treated in El Arish Hospital, while three others were taken into police custody. The other 26 escaped and managed to cross into Israel, a police official said. Two of the Sudanese refugees who were detained were Rawda Abdullah, 25, and her 24-year-old brother Ismail, from the war-torn Darfur region. The three were part of a group of 29 Sudanese refugees who paid smugglers $500 each to help them sneak into Israel, said the official. Radwa Abdullah told interrogators that the refugees met with a broker in Cairo who promised them a safe crossing into Israel. She said they were then covered with bed sheets on mini-trucks and entered the Sinai Peninsula, where they spent a night in Bedouin tents. In the early morning, masked Bedouins led them to a border area where the barbed wire was dangling and had many holes, the official said Radwa Abdullah told investigators. Later in the day, border guards arrested two Sudanese women, two men and two children, also from Darfur and a Somali man who said he was seeking work in Israel, the Egyptian border official said. Egypt's eastern border is the scene of frequent attempts by Egyptians and foreigners at crossing into Israel to smuggle goods or search for work. Egypt arrests 20 Sudanese refugees trying to infiltrate Israel Egyptian border guards arrested 20 Sudanese refugees on Tuesday as they tried to infiltrate into Israel, police said, one day after the Interior Ministry announced its intention to deport most of the African refugees currently in Israel to Egypt. According to Captain Mohammed Badr of the northern Sinai Peninsula police, the group, including women and children, were from war-torn Darfur and southern Sudan and were seeking political asylum in Israel. "People smugglers left the group near the frontier and fled just minutes before police arrived," Badr said. The Sudanese refugees said they had paid thousands of dollars to be smuggled into Israel. About 200 people a year, mostly from Sudan, are smuggled from Egypt into Israel, according to the Israeli group Physicians for Human Rights. On Monday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting that the African refugees who will be deported to Egypt "will not be returned to countries where their lives are in danger." Olmert was trying to assuage concerns of human rights organizations regarding the fate of the refugees once they were deported to Egypt, from where they crossed into Israel. Olmert and Egypt President Hosni Mubarak agreed last week that Israel would deport the African refugees back to Egypt though international border crossings. Human rights groups expressed concern on Sunday that the prime minister's announcement regarding the deportation of the refugees failed to address questions about their safety, particularly the likelihood that they may in turn be deported from Egypt back to their home countries. Many are refugees from Sudan, and there is genuine concern for their safety if they are sent back to their home country. Olmert told the Foreign Affairs committee that some 2,800 refugees and economic migrants have crossed into Israel from Egypt, and that 1,160 of them are from Sudan. According to Olmert's data, 2,500 persons crossing into Israel from Sinai during the first six months of the year. Olmert promised that Israel will absorb the refugees that have already arrived from Darfur, and will help settle them in Israel. As for the rest, he said that they will be returned to Egypt. 'Most of the persons crossing are economic migrants, and there is no reason to hold them here and to create a community that [potentially] may reach hundreds of thousands.' Olmert said. The representative of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Jerusalem, Michael Bavli, warned Monday that unless the wave of refugees is not stemmed in the south, 'the ability of the UN to deal with the influx of refugees will collapse. It is already terribly behind.' The UNHCR evaluates four to five requests for asylum per day, but in practice there are more than 40 new arrivals each night. During discussions of an inter-ministerial committee on Sunday, it was decided that those who cannot be deported to Egypt for a variety of reasons will be incarcerated. Much of the discussion on Sunday revolved around the infrastructure necessary to hold these people. Part of the Olmert-Mubarak agreement also includes efforts to hermetically seal the border against cross-border migration by illegal immigrants or refugees. Bavli expressed his support for the closing of the southern border to refugees and economic migrants from Egypt. 'It is the right of any state to close the border,' he said. 'It can build a fence, dig a trench or use drones.' Bavli also made it clear that he is not opposed to the agreement between Olmert and Mubarak for the immediate deportation of the refugees who crossed into Israel from Egypt, as long as Egypt does not then send them back to Sudan. The UNHCR representative noted that 'the refugees should be hosted by the first country that received them, and not returned to their home country. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Nothing to fear Nancy Pelosi in Israel: I trust all presidential candidates in regard to Israel. Bonfire drama Mount Meron grave of famed rabbi at center of ownership row.   1.   Why are they trying to flee Egypt?to Israel? 13:41  |  PETER SM 04/07/07   2.   And the World Watches 14:08  |  JewishHeart 04/07/07   3.   reply 14:38  |  Chol Ajok 04/07/07   4.   #2 - Your right 15:05  |  Ryan 04/07/07   5.   Isn`t Israel`s Doing 16:26  |  Ron 04/07/07   6.   #2 JewishHeart 16:32  |  MS 04/07/07   7.   #5 Isn`t Israel`s Doing 17:00  |  Bill Foonman 04/07/07   8.   The wandering refugee 17:06  |  Ursomi 04/07/07   9.   Whatever is happening in Eygpt should fixed in Eygpt 17:23  |  De 04/07/07   10.   Are they truly safe, Olmert? 19:00  |  William 04/07/07   11.   William #10 22:02  |  JewishHeart 04/07/07   12.   #6 MS, What have you done? 22:08  |  JewishHeart 04/07/07   13.   #10 William 22:11  |  JewishHeart 04/07/07   14.   # 11 jewishheart 23:43  |  Axel 04/07/07   15.   peter sm # 1 00:20  |  vietvet 05/07/07   16.   Jewishheart , they have not told you anything 00:23  |  Vietvet 05/07/07   17.   Aren`t the feeling Darfuris Muslims? 15:14  |  Aimes 05/07/07   18.   Hi 20:42  |  Nuyon 06/07/07

Read & React Israel to Hezbollah: Forget Palestinian prisoners in swap for IDF soldiers Responses: 48 Bin Laden: All Muslims must help end Gaza siege Responses: 49 Obama urges settler policy change, recognition of Israel Responses: 62 Google founder: Anti-Semitism drove my family from Russia Responses: 43 MKs seek to strike Arabic as an official language of Israel Responses: 54 Rosner's Domain Harel & Issacharoff: Can Israel deter Hezbollah and Hamas? What makes Nancy Pelosy a pro-Israeli? The hysteria over talking to Hamas (WTR) Poll: Was Bush attacking Obama? Israel, the largest Jewish ghetto? (WTR) More Headlines 13:03 Israel to Hezbollah: Forget Palestinian prisoners in swap for IDF soldiers 12:58 French FM confirms informal contacts with Hamas 12:50 IDF: Iran-trained militant arrested in Gaza raid last month 03:35 Bin Laden: All Muslims must help end Gaza siege 14:59 Palestinian troops arrest two Islamic Jihad leaders in Jenin 14:29 Olmert's lawyer slams early admittance of Talansky testimony 10:54 Poland's chief rabbi says kaddish for savior of Jewish children in Holocaust 13:20 Police question Gaydamak, billionaire charges 'persecution' 05:53 MKs: Make Hebrew the only official language 12:45 Israel to agree unofficially to Egypt cease-fire deal; skeptical Barak to discuss plan with Mubarak Monday 02:08 Disengagement Authority: Gov't spent NIS 6 billion on settler evacuees 06:40 SPNI report: One quarter of nesting birds are in danger Previous Editions Select Day 18 may 16 may 15 may 14 may 13 may 12 may 11 may 09 may 08 may 07 may 06 may 05 may

Special Offers Advertisement Dead Sea Products Buy Dead Sea mineral skin care and beauty products. Coupon code Haaretz for 10% off. Istudy Learn Hebrew in 3 months The Terraces Your Ultimate Coastal Address On Nitza Boulevard, North Netanya Together Celebrating Israel's 60th The Jewish Agency and You - together making history Pardes Institute Summer Sessions http://www.pardes.org.il/ Free the Palestinians from: Corrupt Kleptocracy, Tyrannical Theocracy, Abysmal Anarchy Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved