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African refugees in Tel Aviv (Nir Kafri)
Last update - 19:07 25/02/2008
Immigration Police detains some 200 African refugees in Tel Aviv
By Ruth Sinai, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: migrant workers, refugees 

The Immigration Police raided the area surrounding Tel Aviv's central bus station Monday morning and detained more than 200 African asylum seekers.

The raid followed a statement Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had made on Sunday, urging the police to deport migrants who had illegally entered Israel from Egypt, but do not enjoy the protection of the UN.

Among the detainees were citizens of Eritrea, the Ivory Coast, and Sudan. They were taken to the Holon police station for interrogation and their status to be determined. Those who are recognized as refugees will be immediately released, and the others will be taken to Ketziot prison, where illegal dwellers are incarcerated before deportation.
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Since the refugees' lives may be at risk in their home countries, Israel considers deporting them to a third country that will agree to host them.

An Immigration Police spokesperson said that detainees who claim they were arrested en route to submit an application at the office of the UN High Commission for Refugees will not be released.

UNHCR has accumulated more than 6,500 asylum applications, more than 2,000 of which were made by Eritrean citizens. The Interior Ministry said that Eritrean citizens who entered Israel no later than 25 December last year will not be deported.

Olmert instructed his chief of staff, Ra'anan Dinur, to prepare a daily report on the procedures involving refugees, including detention, hearings and deportation. A peer review is due to take place in three weeks' time.

The chairman of the special Knesset committee on Foreign Affairs, Meretz MK Ran Cohen, said that "this is an unnecessary move, which serves no purpose but fear-mongering. Instead of harassing the refugees, we should treat them humanely and help them find a job."

Other human rights organizations, including Physicians for Human Rights and the Hotline for Migrant Workers, called on the authorities to release the detainees without delay.

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