Israel mulling facility to house some 10,000 African infiltrators
Center will make it possible to enforce the law against employing infiltrators without work permits, Prime Minister's Bureau says.
By Dana Weiler-PolakThe cabinet is to vote Sunday on whether to build a facility to house some 10,000 infiltrators into Israel via the southern border with Egypt.
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A group of men being detained by the army after crossing illegally into Israel from Egypt, Nov. 24, 2010. |
| Photo by: Reuters |
The proposal, which comes one week after construction began on a border fence in the south, is meant to provide a place where the infiltrators' basic needs are met but they will not be allowed to work.
It is one of several steps Israel wants to take to stem the tide of infiltrators, which according to figures from the Population and Immigration Authority, has reached 34,566 people so far this year. In 2009, an average of 300 crossed the border every month.
The Prime Minister's Bureau said in a statement that the facility is intended to house people who enter the country illegally but cannot be deported, including citizens of Sudan and Eritrea. They will be provided with food, a bed and health care.
The facility will be administered by the Prison Service, but the Prime Minister's Bureau says the residents will be able to leave under certain restrictions. The center will go into operation within six months of the cabinet vote.
The Prime Minister's Bureau said such facilities exist in Western countries such as Australia, the Netherlands and Italy; the goal is to stifle the economic incentive to cross the border, the main reason for entering the country illegally.
"The center will make it possible to enforce the law against employing infiltrators without work permits," the Prime Minister's Bureau said.
Israel is also seeking countries that will take in infiltrators after ascertaining that they are not refugees whose lives could be endangered by sending them out of the country.
The proposal to build the center comes after an interministerial committee headed by the Prime Minister's Office director general submitted its recommendations. Also, the cabinet decided in July to find ways to prevent infiltration.
The cabinet will also vote Sunday on new procedures to regulate the treatment of asylum seekers in Israel. Infiltrators who seek asylum as refugees will be able to apply for asylum only up to one year after entering the country.
By the new procedure, such a request may be rejected outright if applicants are found by officials to have misrepresented their identity or country of origin.
If a request is submitted more than a year after entering the country, but special circumstances prevail, the applicant's request may still be considered.
The procedure comes following a flood of 22,000 requests from Israeli officials who determine refugee status; that job has been transferred from the United Nations Refugee Agency to a unit that operates under the Population and Immigration Authority.
Officials are concerned that unless new procedures are instituted, with so many applications, treatment of bona fide refugees will be delayed.
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look at the swiss - they know what they are doing Swiss Voters will support the mandatory deportation of foreigners including illegal entry non-violent actions, including drug dealing and social security abuse. swiss is a rich country and even it can not afford to feed and care for so many africans so swiss doesnt put them in camp - it deports them
Why do we Europeans react in such an aggressive way if Israel treats illegal immigrants like almost every other country around the world? Why do so many people use this information only to justify their old old anti-jewish stereotypes? This is pure Anit-Semitism in it's classical shape! Congratulations, Europe is still the same...
The Chinese have a problem with North Korean refugees. America is terrified of the hordes of Mexicans swarming across the border. No doubt Absolute Sweden is fearful about infiltrating Norwegians. . . . This is not an Israeli only problem. Even Mongolia is concerned about Chinese immigrants. . . A change since the Mongolians worried the Chinese into building the Great Wall.
to keep the refugees and terrorists out. This project should keep a few hundred people at work for a couple of years. Let Egypt deal with the African economical refugees. They can keep their muslim brothers in their own country or send them back.
Perhaps if Israel were more interested in building the Egyptian Wall instead of Settlements and the Great Wall of Greater Israel the wall between Israel and Egypt could be finished sooner. So many walls and so small a nation.
Israel mulling facility to house some 10,000 African infiltrators?
If they are bei g sequestered and isolated and cannot work it is like throwing them into a ghetto or concentration camp. This move will destroy their dignity and the will to lice. Hasn't anybody learned anything from the horrible mistakes by the ministry of absorption? Somebody in the government has to wake up.
Israel faces a serious DEMOGRAPHIC problem. Please do not make this mistake of taking them in. TREAT THEM WELL & SEND THEM BACK ! There are 22 Arab nations & 50 Islamic nations. They should go there. Millions of Bangladeshi Muslims crossed illegally into India. Now India has a HUGE problem with these.
illegal immigrants? Should they also be rounded up and housed in a facility run by the Prison Services and only be able to leave under certain restrictions? Or are Jewish illegal immigrants good, but black illegal immigrants bad?
Jews entering Palestine - the Roman name for Israel- were coming home. If you have read Haaretz or any other newspaper in the world you would have read where Israel has become the number one country of choice for those escaping African poverty. It is not possible for Israel to keep taking in more and more. If you are an intelligent person you know that any country has a sysyem to help immigrants ...but the machinery in place can only handle what it is made to do. Canada is a huge, huge country. We can put people anywhere without hurting the system , yet we also have set limits on legal and illegal immigration. Why are you not giving Canada a hard time?
Doug the problem is other people are seen as gentiles...
Britain closely regulated Israeli emigration to Palestine.
Maybe they don't deserve it?
this refers to economic refugees, not ones seeking safety
There is a difference between racism and limiting immigration. You are of the racist side. Where even letting in one Jew was a no no. Israel for her size and resources has already taken in more than she can handle. Have you not read Haaretz over the last 5 years. Illegal Immigrants have been coming in month after month, year after year. Eventually the system starts to break down. The end result will be what occured in France a few years ago with huge unemployment in low wage areas and riots. Wherever you live Andreas, I think you should open your doors a little also.
The bulk of these people are not real refugees they are economic migrants looking for the good life and in Israel even a low paid foreigner is getting more money that they would have done back home so its natural they all want to come here. Israel is also full of bleeding heart liberals with some kind of holocaust syndrome and are against deporting anybody no matter who they are or why they are there. Not long ago a bill to deport illegal workers was turned into an issue about children and suddenly nobody could bare to deport anybody. No country can be expected to just take in everybody real refugee or not. Taking in thousands of olim every year is hard enough on the economy and they are jews & most have some education. These people are not jews and the bulk have no education and so we would be creating an economic underclass. With the real refugees many pass through safe countries on their way to Israel but they want to go to Israel because they think they will have a better life if they go to Israel rather than some other country they may pass through. Refugees are not supposed to make a list of all the safe countries in the world and then pick the ones they want to go to because that where they think they will do best its find a safe country. Israel needs to build these facilities and it needs to start deporting en masse. We also need to get the UN to do something about it because we cannot be responsible for all the Middle Easts refugees. If we have to pay safe countries to take them lets do that. We also need to introduce really tough legislation which possibly includes sending Israeli business owners to jail if they employ anybody without a legitimate work permit and lets have regular checks made on these businesses which employ foreigners for cheap labour and so make sure they don't hire illegals.
why do Jews condemn countries for controlling their borders when it was jews fleeing oppression and a ruined economy in the 1930's. What is good for the goose is good for the gander you cannot have it always, and building a camp to concentrate the problem is an obscene and ultimately futile gesture.look at Germany they have Jews living there now, despite trying to eradicate the problem.
they came to make money.let them build the border fence on the Egyptian border.it will keep future, so call refugeesout. when they really have to work they will run away and tell others israel is no good.
They are looking for a better life, they are not enemies seeking to 'infiltrate' to destroy your counyty. I think using this term is despicable as it incites distrust and hatred.
give us your address and we'll send them to yours - post money fully paid
They are called infiltrators because they infiltrated Israels border. Your right they are looking for a better life rather than to destroy the country but Israel doesn't owe them that better life just because they want it and we don't want them. Of course if you love them so much and want them to have a better life you are of course more than welcome to them and I don't think anybody in Israel will object to that.
So...like do you gently heat the inmates, and add some spices and maybe some sugar, put in some orange juice, some lemon... It's better with red wine, anyway. I can't see immigrants being a good base.
You may 'mull' anything by grinding it very finely.
Problem solved
One nite, one meal, one way ticket back home!!!!
Motel6, it's written 'night' not "nite", ok? And why one "nite", if I may ask?
Wherever people flee conflict or emigrate claiming persecution, the United Nations is tasked with assisting those people with basic necessities and eventual relocation. Those who come to Israel should be handed over to the United Nations. End of problem. Israel is too small and too besieged to look after billions of world refugees. If Israel takes steps to integrate them, the flow will become a tidal wave. Tallk to your MPs, who seem to be short of idease. Tell them to contact the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.
We are too small, and too densely populated, etc etc. You can't shove off responsability to other countries, although many of my countrymen would like to.
I wonder if Israel would get the nod from the world to absorb these people and settle them in the West Bank or Gaza.
We are all humans. I still can't understand how you jews, who were persecuted for a long time, lacks empathy. Truly mind-boggling!
Daniel....first of all we Jews are still to this day persecuted. Second we do have empathy as our homeland Israel is always on the forefront of aiding disaster areas. But please look at the size of our homeland. It is a tiny strip of land with limited space and resources. We can tempoarily feed and home them and then help them to emigrate, but allowing them to stay is a strain on the country and will only set Israel up for more illegals to come. Why does Egypt not keep them. They have much more to offer as to land and resources.
Why can't economic refugees be automatically deported? In the US, Haitians refugees are returned back to Haiti before their clothes are even dry. No questions asked.
The proposed detention centre will not work. It is not working as a policy here in Australia and will not work in Israel. Depriving the infiltrators of work will not matter to them. As long as they are fed they will be content.. Clearly Israel will have to simply put them back on the Egyptian side of the border. As they are muslims perhaps Israel could deposit them on the coast of Saudi Arabia near some town. If Israel builds some centre to hold 10,000 persons this will soon become, in the propaganda war, a 'concentration camp' run by Jews. This unpleasant situation has no upside for Israel. Removing these unhappy people asap is the only way to deal with the situation.
It would not take much more work to construct a livable village with small industry to sustain the refugees. Oh. I forgot. They're not Jewish.
You Yanks are so full of B/S. Why don't you allow the Mexicans into your country? If they are found trying to cross into the US, they are shot at and many killed. Don't compare a tiny state like Israel to America where you have land to spare.
... travel to the country from which the border-jumper originated, and make those changes that would make life better there. Better even than Israel. Then there would be no problem. When can you start?
You know nothing about the world except what occurs within your own country..and on top of that you are probably a racist. Please do me one favor and investigate the land mass of Israel compared to the land mass of the USA. Then just compare Israel to the land mass of some of the Arab/Moslem countries around. I imagine that will be your first bit of education of geography.
Since most if not all are Moslems they can be deported to the Moslem countries of their choice. A detention center will only encourage refugees we ha ve them in the US and they do not deter illegal immigration. They can also be sent to Lebanon, Gaza or the WB. They are not Jewish Israel's problem or problam to solve.
The problem is that no Muslim country wants these people. Besides many of them are actually fleeing Arab militias such as those responsible for the Darfur genocide. But it does raise the question as to why other countries do not offer to take these unfortunate people. Israel obviously cannot care for them all. I note that no European country will take them. Why not the US?
We no longer have the need for more immigration either legal or illegal. The US is running out of oil, water, housing, infrastructure, jail space, classroom space, freeway space, jobs, lumber, etc. It up to the Moslems to solve Moslem problems. Not Israel, not Europe, not Israel.
Most are Christian. Evident from the large number of churches in the neighbourhoods. Eritreans (18 000) overwhelmingly Christian. South Sudanese (6 000) Christian. Only really the Darfuri are Muslim. And even so, what difference does it make. is their life worth less?
but it is impossible for tiny Israel to absorb so many without help/assistance from the UN. Israel can be a safe haven but only temporarily. Long term solution is to find other countries to take most of them in.
let alone African Islamic brothers !
Jewish country has enough on her plate to deal with, there is no room for thousands refugees who add no real value to the country.
it seems to be the country of choice to hundreds of thousands of refugees. All Israel needs now is money from Europe left in order to settle them in. I wonder if they would like to work in the West Bank "occupied " territory.
Sudanese and Eritreans who are not granted asylum in Israel should be deported as soon as practicable, otherwise, the flood of infiltrators will continue (and increase, as is happening). A simple solution would be to hire an Egyptian ship to carry the escapees directly to home countries (from Eilat) and let them take care of their citizens. The funny thing is that these Africans cannot hide due to obvious external features, so catching them is much easier than many other illegal workers.
"The Prime Minister's Bureau said in a statement that the facility is intended to house people who enter the country illegally but CANNOT BE DEPORTED, including citizens of Sudan and Eritrea."
I live in Australia, and the problem is so great, that the Gov is building facilities everywhere and trying to convince sorrounding countries to take - so called - refugees. Funny that most of the Sri Lankan accepted as refugees, after a Year they have gone back for Vacations back in Sri Lanka - so much for Political Refugees?. Israel is a Small Country - that is the reason or one reason for the settlements and the no accptance of the West Bank as a Nation. So, what will Israel do when there is no Land to build?. Where will they house them. And YOU PM IS NOT THINKING. Israel is Bleeding due to the constant state of alert of the Armend Forces, add the Lazy Pals, bleeding Social Services and now you are adding - buildings, plus care of those in reality Econimical refugees - where is the money going to come from? more taxed on Israelis?, PM, Israel is also giving so much to the Pals in The West bank and Gaza. You are forgetting about the REAL REASON FOR ISRAEL TO EXIST. To take care of Jews - yes, the only piece of land Jews can call home. FORGOT THAT ALREADY?. Do not compare Israel with Land rich areas like Italy, Australia etc. Get a grip will you
Put the facility in North Tel Aviv. I bet the bleeding heart liberals there would send them back to their homelands in no time. There is no way the residents of N. Tel Aviv would put up with what S. Tel Aviv has had to endure.