30 june 2014
Hundreds of undocumented African migrants began a hunger strike on Monday after Israeli police forcibly broke up a sit-in they were staging along the Egyptian border.
Around 1,000 Africans, mostly from Eritrea and Sudan, had marched Friday to the border and set up a makeshift camp to protest against their "inhuman and unlimited" detention at Holot facility.
Israel opened Holot detention camp in the southern Negev desert last year as part of a crackdown on illegal immigrants, with the facility open by day but locked down at night.
The demonstrators have said Holot is akin to prison and have also slammed what they said was Israel's failure to process their asylum requests.
They are calling on the UN refugee agency to intervene to allow them to immigrate to a third country.
But on Sunday evening, police and immigration officials "violently" broke up the border encampment and took the demonstrators to Saharonim, another detention camp for African immigrants, the demonstrators said in a statement.
"We have been taken to Saharonim prison. Some of us have injuries including to the face and limbs. In protest of this violence, and our ongoing imprisonment we have now started a hunger strike," it said.
"We call on UNHCR to find an urgent solution for this situation and to protect our rights as people who have come to Israel to seek asylum and shelter."
Sabine Hadad, spokeswoman for the Israeli immigration authority confirmed that 779 people had been evacuated during the arrest operation.
"There were clashes with a small minority of demonstrators. Five of them and five police were very lightly injured," she told AFP.
Punishment likely
"Each one will be brought before a committee to explain why they violated the rules," she said, indicating the inmates are required to sign in twice during the day, and to spend the night in the facility.
"They could face up to three months imprisonment for this offence," she said.
Under legislation passed by parliament in December 2013, Israel can detain undocumented migrants for up to a year without trial in move slammed by UNHCR which said Israel could be in breach of international law.
The law was the latest in a series of measures aimed at cracking down on the numbers of Africans entering the country illegally, which Israel says poses a threat to the state's Jewish character.
Last year, Israel launched a crackdown on what it said were 60,000 undocumented African migrants, rounding up and deporting 3,920 by the end of the year, and building a hi-tech fence along the border with Egypt.
The UN says there are some 53,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in Israel, most of whom entered via the desert border with Egypt.
Of that number, some 36,000 come from Eritrea where the regime has been repeatedly accused of widespread human rights abuses. Another 14,000 are from conflict-torn Sudan.
Around 1,000 Africans, mostly from Eritrea and Sudan, had marched Friday to the border and set up a makeshift camp to protest against their "inhuman and unlimited" detention at Holot facility.
Israel opened Holot detention camp in the southern Negev desert last year as part of a crackdown on illegal immigrants, with the facility open by day but locked down at night.
The demonstrators have said Holot is akin to prison and have also slammed what they said was Israel's failure to process their asylum requests.
They are calling on the UN refugee agency to intervene to allow them to immigrate to a third country.
But on Sunday evening, police and immigration officials "violently" broke up the border encampment and took the demonstrators to Saharonim, another detention camp for African immigrants, the demonstrators said in a statement.
"We have been taken to Saharonim prison. Some of us have injuries including to the face and limbs. In protest of this violence, and our ongoing imprisonment we have now started a hunger strike," it said.
"We call on UNHCR to find an urgent solution for this situation and to protect our rights as people who have come to Israel to seek asylum and shelter."
Sabine Hadad, spokeswoman for the Israeli immigration authority confirmed that 779 people had been evacuated during the arrest operation.
"There were clashes with a small minority of demonstrators. Five of them and five police were very lightly injured," she told AFP.
Punishment likely
"Each one will be brought before a committee to explain why they violated the rules," she said, indicating the inmates are required to sign in twice during the day, and to spend the night in the facility.
"They could face up to three months imprisonment for this offence," she said.
Under legislation passed by parliament in December 2013, Israel can detain undocumented migrants for up to a year without trial in move slammed by UNHCR which said Israel could be in breach of international law.
The law was the latest in a series of measures aimed at cracking down on the numbers of Africans entering the country illegally, which Israel says poses a threat to the state's Jewish character.
Last year, Israel launched a crackdown on what it said were 60,000 undocumented African migrants, rounding up and deporting 3,920 by the end of the year, and building a hi-tech fence along the border with Egypt.
The UN says there are some 53,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in Israel, most of whom entered via the desert border with Egypt.
Of that number, some 36,000 come from Eritrea where the regime has been repeatedly accused of widespread human rights abuses. Another 14,000 are from conflict-torn Sudan.
28 june 2014
Nearly 1,000 illegal African immigrants in Israel on Friday staged a march towards the southern border with Egypt to protest against living conditions in their internment camp, public radio reported.
Israeli soldiers stopped the demonstrators, most from Eritrea and Sudan, nearly 300 meters from the border, it added.
The protesters, who are allowed out during the day, said in a statement that their march was in protest against their "inhuman and unlimited" detention in the Holot camp.
Holot houses some 2,300 immigrants.
The demonstrators were demanding to be able to leave Israel, and called on the UN refugee agency and the international community to take charge of their cases so they can immigrate to a third country.
Israeli soldiers stopped the demonstrators, most from Eritrea and Sudan, nearly 300 meters from the border, it added.
The protesters, who are allowed out during the day, said in a statement that their march was in protest against their "inhuman and unlimited" detention in the Holot camp.
Holot houses some 2,300 immigrants.
The demonstrators were demanding to be able to leave Israel, and called on the UN refugee agency and the international community to take charge of their cases so they can immigrate to a third country.
The Israeli authorities require undocumented immigrants who have been in Israel for more than five years to live in Holot.
One demonstrator said the authorities present it as an "open facility," but it was "actually a prison."
Under legislation passed in December 2013, authorities can detain illegal immigrants for up to a year without trial.
In February, Haaretz newspaper reported that Israel had started flying undocumented immigrants to Uganda with the authorization of that country's authorities.
The Israeli population and immigration office said that in late 2013 there were 53,646 African immigrants in Israel, 35,987 of whom were Eritrean, 13,249 Sudanese and the remainder from other countries.
Israel's construction of an electric fence along its border with Egypt has reduced the number of immigrants arriving illegally through the Sinai Peninsula to almost none.
Thousands of African immigrants rallied last year against the authorities' refusal to grant them refugee status. Video - More pictures
One demonstrator said the authorities present it as an "open facility," but it was "actually a prison."
Under legislation passed in December 2013, authorities can detain illegal immigrants for up to a year without trial.
In February, Haaretz newspaper reported that Israel had started flying undocumented immigrants to Uganda with the authorization of that country's authorities.
The Israeli population and immigration office said that in late 2013 there were 53,646 African immigrants in Israel, 35,987 of whom were Eritrean, 13,249 Sudanese and the remainder from other countries.
Israel's construction of an electric fence along its border with Egypt has reduced the number of immigrants arriving illegally through the Sinai Peninsula to almost none.
Thousands of African immigrants rallied last year against the authorities' refusal to grant them refugee status. Video - More pictures
19 feb 2014
Israel has started a secret operation to send African asylum seekers to Uganda, a senior government official said. The official said that in the past month dozens of asylum seekers agreed to be moved there.
A Sudanese citizen, who left Israel for Uganda last month, said he was on a plane with six other Sudanese asylum seekers. They had all agreed to be moved to Uganda in return for being released from Saharonim detention center, Negev.
The man also said he had received $3,500 for leaving the country as part of Israel's "voluntary departure" procedure.
Haaretz quoted the director of the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, Reut Michaeli, as saying on Wednesday, "The State of Israel is proposing to asylum seekers a return to Uganda with no assurances or official agreement," She added that as far as her organisation knows, the asylum seekers will not receive legal status in Uganda and they will not have any papers allowing them to leave if they want to.
"In addition to all that, it is known that Uganda deports asylum seekers to their countries of origin," Michaeli pointed out.
Israel did not inform the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that asylum seekers were being made to leave noting that the UN refuses to consider the idea of giving people a choice between long term imprisonment and returning to their country as this is a matter of personal freedom
Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar said on Wednesday that it was projected that this month some 1,500 asylum seekers would be leaving Israel, compared to 765 in January, 325 in December and 63 in November.
Meanwhile, hundreds of asylum seekers marched in protest of the new procedure, from the Holot detention centre in the desert to Tel Aviv. They are calling for the release of all the detainees and asking that their asylum applications be processed.
According to the Population and Immigration Authority, as of September 2013 there were 53,646 asylum seekers from Africa in Israel, including 13,249 Sudanese and 35,987 Eritreans.
A Sudanese citizen, who left Israel for Uganda last month, said he was on a plane with six other Sudanese asylum seekers. They had all agreed to be moved to Uganda in return for being released from Saharonim detention center, Negev.
The man also said he had received $3,500 for leaving the country as part of Israel's "voluntary departure" procedure.
Haaretz quoted the director of the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, Reut Michaeli, as saying on Wednesday, "The State of Israel is proposing to asylum seekers a return to Uganda with no assurances or official agreement," She added that as far as her organisation knows, the asylum seekers will not receive legal status in Uganda and they will not have any papers allowing them to leave if they want to.
"In addition to all that, it is known that Uganda deports asylum seekers to their countries of origin," Michaeli pointed out.
Israel did not inform the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that asylum seekers were being made to leave noting that the UN refuses to consider the idea of giving people a choice between long term imprisonment and returning to their country as this is a matter of personal freedom
Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar said on Wednesday that it was projected that this month some 1,500 asylum seekers would be leaving Israel, compared to 765 in January, 325 in December and 63 in November.
Meanwhile, hundreds of asylum seekers marched in protest of the new procedure, from the Holot detention centre in the desert to Tel Aviv. They are calling for the release of all the detainees and asking that their asylum applications be processed.
According to the Population and Immigration Authority, as of September 2013 there were 53,646 asylum seekers from Africa in Israel, including 13,249 Sudanese and 35,987 Eritreans.
8 jan 2014
African refugees leave the Holot detention center in southern Israel on December 21, 2013
Israel has recently opened a new detention camp designed to hold African asylum seekers until they can be sent back to their home countries, a report says.
The so-called "open" detention facility, named Holot, was opened last month and is located dozens of kilometers from civilization near the neighboring Saharonim prison in southern Israel’s Negev Desert, Qatar's state-run broadcaster, Al Jazeera reported.
The detention center is estimated to hold about 2,000 people who are allowed to leave but must report in three times a day and return for an evening curfew.
However, the nearest city is Beersheba, which is 70 kilometers (50 miles) away, leaving few options for work.
On Tuesday, tens of thousands of workers, who are mostly asylum seekers, demonstrated in Tel Aviv for a third straight day of protests to denounce Israel’s long-term detention of migrants.
Most of the Africans who have crossed into occupied territories in recent years are from South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Israel’s so-called anti-infiltration law allows it to imprison asylum seekers for a long time without charge or deport them to their countries where their lives are often in danger.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already said that protests will not influence Israel. Tel Aviv is a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, which protects refugees from deportation to countries in which their lives are in danger.
Israel has recently opened a new detention camp designed to hold African asylum seekers until they can be sent back to their home countries, a report says.
The so-called "open" detention facility, named Holot, was opened last month and is located dozens of kilometers from civilization near the neighboring Saharonim prison in southern Israel’s Negev Desert, Qatar's state-run broadcaster, Al Jazeera reported.
The detention center is estimated to hold about 2,000 people who are allowed to leave but must report in three times a day and return for an evening curfew.
However, the nearest city is Beersheba, which is 70 kilometers (50 miles) away, leaving few options for work.
On Tuesday, tens of thousands of workers, who are mostly asylum seekers, demonstrated in Tel Aviv for a third straight day of protests to denounce Israel’s long-term detention of migrants.
Most of the Africans who have crossed into occupied territories in recent years are from South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Israel’s so-called anti-infiltration law allows it to imprison asylum seekers for a long time without charge or deport them to their countries where their lives are often in danger.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already said that protests will not influence Israel. Tel Aviv is a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, which protects refugees from deportation to countries in which their lives are in danger.
Thousands of African migrant workers in Israel are planning to stage a march to al-Quds (Jerusalem) in protest at Tel Aviv's refugee policies.
The plan came on Wednesday, a day after tens of thousands of workers, who are mostly asylum seekers, demonstrated in Tel Aviv for a third straight day of protests to denounce Israel’s long-term detention of migrants.
On Tuesday, the protesters held banners reading, "We are refugees" and "No more prison" as they marched on Western embassies and the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Most of the Africans who have crossed into occupied territories in recent years are from South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
In a Sunday press release, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) slammed Israel’s policy on the African migrants, particularly the new amendment to Tel Avis’s “anti-infiltration law.”
Israel’s so-called anti-infiltration law allows it to imprison asylum seekers for a long time without charge or deport them to their countries where their lives are often in danger.
The agency called on Tel Aviv to consider alternatives to its current “warehousing” of migrants, in likely reference to the Israeli practice of holding African migrants in special facilities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already said that protests will not influence Israel. Tel Aviv is a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, which protects refugees from deportation to countries in which their lives are in danger.
The plan came on Wednesday, a day after tens of thousands of workers, who are mostly asylum seekers, demonstrated in Tel Aviv for a third straight day of protests to denounce Israel’s long-term detention of migrants.
On Tuesday, the protesters held banners reading, "We are refugees" and "No more prison" as they marched on Western embassies and the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Most of the Africans who have crossed into occupied territories in recent years are from South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
In a Sunday press release, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) slammed Israel’s policy on the African migrants, particularly the new amendment to Tel Avis’s “anti-infiltration law.”
Israel’s so-called anti-infiltration law allows it to imprison asylum seekers for a long time without charge or deport them to their countries where their lives are often in danger.
The agency called on Tel Aviv to consider alternatives to its current “warehousing” of migrants, in likely reference to the Israeli practice of holding African migrants in special facilities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already said that protests will not influence Israel. Tel Aviv is a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, which protects refugees from deportation to countries in which their lives are in danger.
7 jan 2014
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Thousands of African asylum seekers demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Tuesday for a third straight day of protests against Israel's immigration policies.
Migrants, most of them fleeing Eritrea or Sudan, held banners that read "We are refugees," and "No more prison," as they marched on Western embassies and the offices of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). Israel's commercial capital was the scene of race riots in 2012 and the rightwing government has vowed to step up the repatriation of illegal immigrants, saying they pose a threat to the state's Jewish character. Nearly 60,000 managed to slip across the desert border with Egypt |
before Israel completed a high-tech barrier last year.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the protests of the asylum seekers will make no difference to his government's tough stand.
"Just as we've succeeded in blocking off illegal infiltrations thanks to the security fence, we're determined to send back those who made it in before the border was closed," he told members of his rightwing Likud party on Monday.
Under legislation passed last month, authorities can detain illegal immigrants entering Israel for up to a year without trial.
The government has opened a sprawling detention facility in the Negev desert to house both new entrants and immigrants already in the country deemed to have disturbed public order.
The UNHCR has condemned Israel for ignoring the reasons why asylum seekers have fled their countries of of origin and for failing to provide "those with protection needs" with "access to refugee status determination."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the protests of the asylum seekers will make no difference to his government's tough stand.
"Just as we've succeeded in blocking off illegal infiltrations thanks to the security fence, we're determined to send back those who made it in before the border was closed," he told members of his rightwing Likud party on Monday.
Under legislation passed last month, authorities can detain illegal immigrants entering Israel for up to a year without trial.
The government has opened a sprawling detention facility in the Negev desert to house both new entrants and immigrants already in the country deemed to have disturbed public order.
The UNHCR has condemned Israel for ignoring the reasons why asylum seekers have fled their countries of of origin and for failing to provide "those with protection needs" with "access to refugee status determination."
6 jan 2014
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Thousands of African migrants in Israel have marched to the embassies of the United States and a number of European countries on the second day of their mass strike.
The protesters marched in Tel Aviv in Monday to demand asylum and work rights from Israeli authorities. The migrants, who are mostly asylum seekers, also want an end to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy of crackdown on workers, which usually results in their incarceration. The rally came a day after more than 30,000 African asylum seekers attended a demonstration in Tel Aviv to condemn Israel’s long-term detention of undocumented migrants. The African migrants launched a three-day strike in several Israeli cities on Sunday. Most of the Africans who have crossed into Israel in recent years are from South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Their presence has sparked tensions with Israelis who accuse them of changing the Jewish demography of some neighborhoods. In a Sunday press release, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) slammed Israel’s policy on the African migrants, particularly the new amendment to Tel Avis’s “anti-infiltration law.” Israel’s so-called anti-infiltration law allows it to imprison asylum seekers for a long time without charge or deport them to their countries where their |
lives are often in danger.
The UNHCR said Israel’s new legislation is a violation of the spirit of the UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention, which protects the African refugees from deportation to countries where their lives are imperiled.
The agency called on Tel Aviv to consider alternatives to its current “warehousing” of migrants, in likely reference to the Israeli practice of holding African migrants in special facilities.
The UNHCR said Israel’s new legislation is a violation of the spirit of the UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention, which protects the African refugees from deportation to countries where their lives are imperiled.
The agency called on Tel Aviv to consider alternatives to its current “warehousing” of migrants, in likely reference to the Israeli practice of holding African migrants in special facilities.
5 jan 2014
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Tens of thousands of African asylum seekers hold a demonstration in Tel Aviv on January 5, 2014
Tens of thousands of African migrants in Israel have held their biggest demonstration yet over Tel Aviv’s refugee policies. According to police in Tel Aviv, more than 30,000 asylum seekers attended the demonstration on Sunday to condemn Israel’s long-term detention of undocumented immigrants. The rally is the latest step in a movement by African refugees who protest against Israel’s implementation of an anti-infiltration law, which allows the |
Human Right Watch has said that “Israel should end its unlawful detention policy and release all asylum seekers.”
Meanwhile, a recent report says Israel has the lowest living standards among the 35 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
In its economic survey for 2013, the organization said in December last year that Israel’s “average living standards remain well below the top-ranking OECD countries,” adding, “The rate of relative poverty [in Israel] is the highest in the OECD area....”
The report warned against severe deterioration of living conditions in Israel, saying, “The incomes of about one in five Israeli households fall below the poverty line.”
Many Israelis have been migrating in recent months to Germany and the United States. It is said that the Israelis are leaving Israel on economic grounds.
High taxes and low salaries have had adverse effects on the lives of Israelis, specifically the middle class, in recent years.
UN slams Israel for asylum seeker policy
Meanwhile, a recent report says Israel has the lowest living standards among the 35 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
In its economic survey for 2013, the organization said in December last year that Israel’s “average living standards remain well below the top-ranking OECD countries,” adding, “The rate of relative poverty [in Israel] is the highest in the OECD area....”
The report warned against severe deterioration of living conditions in Israel, saying, “The incomes of about one in five Israeli households fall below the poverty line.”
Many Israelis have been migrating in recent months to Germany and the United States. It is said that the Israelis are leaving Israel on economic grounds.
High taxes and low salaries have had adverse effects on the lives of Israelis, specifically the middle class, in recent years.
UN slams Israel for asylum seeker policy
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