Israel to remove Jordan, Egypt from list of 'dangerous states' - Haaretz

Subscribe to Print Edition

Wed., November 07, 2007 Cheshvan 26, 5768

Israel Time: 12:38 (EST+7)

web haaretz.com

Back to Homepage

Print Edition

Diplomacy

Defense

Arts & Leisure

Real Estate

Jewish World

National

Advertising

Magazine

Week's End

Business

Opinion

Rosner's Domain

Anglo File

Books

Travel



		Palestinian security officers inspecting an arms smuggling tunnel along the Gaza border in May, before Hamas seized control of the Strip. (AP)

del.icio.us

Digg It! new

Last update - 06:53 07/11/2007

Israel to remove Jordan, Egypt from list of 'dangerous states'

By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent

tags: Jordan, Egypt, Israel

Egypt and Jordan should no longer be defined as "dangerous countries" in the infiltration prevention law, several government ministries have decided recently. Sources in the ministries have told Haaretz that the law is due to be amended in the following weeks.

The infiltration prevention law states that people entering Israel without authorization from dangerous countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran risk a jail term of seven years instead of the five-year maximum for infiltrators from non-dangerous countries.

I

	Advertisement

n the framework of the amendment, the justice ministry is also promoting the establishment of a special court to determine the state's responsibility toward infiltrators from Egypt - the majority of whom are refugees escaping the genocide in Darfur in western Sudan.

The decision to amend the law came after 18 months of deliberations in the foreign, defense and justice ministries. The latter is supposed to present the government with the amended law in the following weeks.

The amended law addresses the sensitive nature of the relationship with Jordan and Egypt. The law has two drafts, only one of which includes the two neighboring countries. The decision to strike them from the law has been made easier by Israel's peace agreements with Amman and Cairo.

"There was a sensitive issue with this subject," a senior official in the justice ministry told Haaretz. "But infiltrators from Egypt and Jordan do not necessarily have to be citizens of those countries."

The justice ministry has been working on the infiltration prevention law for the past four years. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz was in charge of preparing the law when he was still deputy attorney general.

The amended law is in fact a memorandum that is supposed to replace a law from 1954.

Ministry officials say the new law and future amendments of it must address the need to protect Israel from infiltrations along a 220-kilometer stretch along border with Egypt, which has no fence and little security.

The officials say the border with Israel's southern neighbor has seen a significant hike in the number of infiltrators trying and succeeding in crossing into Israel. Many of the infiltrators are African refugees, one of the officials said, whereas the old 1954 law deals mostly with Arab terrorists.

The new judicial authority the justice ministry is proposing to set up will be authorized to transfer Sudanese refugees to custody under the law that deals with entry to Israel. Under that law, refugees who are not authorized to enter will be deported to the country from which they entered.

Hotline for Migrant Workers, an non-profit organization devoted to protecting foreign laborers and asylum-seekers, says the current draft for the infiltration prevention law shows that "the state intends to keep stripping refugees of their rights. We hope the handling of refugees under the amendment will be better and up to legal standard."

Related articles:

IDF finds seven tunnels, explosives between Egypt, Gaza Strip

Egypt police: Gazans caught in tunnel members of Army of Islam

Rice: U.S. to check Israeli claims Egypt-Gaza smuggling persists

Bookmark to del.icio.us


	Guest speaker
	Peres has been invited to address the Turkish parliament.


	Resisting slavery
	Nearly 28% of Israeli males avoided conscription in 2007.




1.	Not much difference - but good PR	04:13	\|	IsraFan	07/11/07

2.	HOW ON EARTH EGYPT?	04:37	\|	Fortuna Benmayor	07/11/07

3.	Is This Linked To The Annapolis Republican party primary ?	05:54	\|	D.Oubtful	07/11/07

4.	Egypt and Jordan	05:58	\|	Natallie Durson	07/11/07

5.	Israel is on Top the list	10:07	\|	Dav	07/11/07

6.	Dream and delusion	10:11	\|	e.m	07/11/07

7.	Israel`s list	11:59	\|	JOUJOU	07/11/07

8.	EUROPEAN POLL: ISRAEL MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRY TO WORLD SECURITY	12:29	\|	Matthew	07/11/07

Today Online


	MI: Abbas likely to resign if Mideast summit fails
	Responses: 60


	Editorial: Likud is unsurprisingly similar to Hamas
	Responses: 18


	Amira Hass: Gazans already desperately low on water, power
	Responses: 16


	Rosner: Republicans, Democrats aren't very different on Iraq, Iran
	Responses: 2


	Haaretz TV: Until 2004, IDF listened in to all int'l calls from Israel
	Responses: 4

Rosner's Domain

* The 2008 candidates and the lies of "change"

* Upturn in positive views of the war in Iraq (WTR)

* Should American Jews have a voice in shaping Israel's policies?

* Rosner's Guest: Trying to integrate Judaism and feminism

More Headlines
11:47 MI: Mideast summit likely to fail, Abbas may resign


12:38 Haaretz probe: Gaza evacuees lose compensation in apparent scam


08:57 Barak: Israel to retain control of passage between W. Bank, Gaza


12:00 Iran: We have 3,000 centrifuges working at enrichment plant


12:31 Study: Jewish births lead rise in Israeli fertility rates in 2006


11:28 Israel: UN Human Rights Council 'morally bankrupt'


09:49 Yossi Benayoun nets hat trick in record-setting Champions League match


12:11 One dead in clash between rival groups at Gaza funeral


09:50 Hamas plans to build $200 million movie production house in Gaza


11:27 Mukasey one step closer to becoming second Jewish AG in U.S. history