Israel frees hundreds more African migrants from detention

Israel began releasing a second group of around 600 African migrants from a desert detention center on Wednesday in accordance with a court order, prison authorities said.

The High Court of Justice this month ordered Israel to free illegal migrants held for more than a year at the Holot Detention Center in the Negev desert, in a ruling that affected 1,178 asylum seekers.

A first group of hundreds was freed on Tuesday but barred from entering the cities of Tel Aviv and Eilat in the face of hostility from many residents. On Tuesday, the mayor of Arad ordered police to block any newly released migrants from entering that southern city.

Official figures show some 45,000 illegal immigrants are in Israel, almost all from Eritrea and Sudan.

Most of those who have not been detained live in poor areas of southern Tel Aviv, where there have been several protests over their presence.

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai strongly criticized the government, saying: “Each minister advocates a different policy and engages in populist and racist declarations.”

He proposed granting work permits to migrants so that they can disperse throughout Israel and not be concentrated in Tel Aviv, where he said there were 30,000-35,000 African migrants.

“You have to treat them as human beings and not to forget that our parents and grandparents were also refugees,” he said, speaking on Army Radio.

The Supreme Court two weeks ago overturned a provision of a law that would have allowed illegal immigrants to be held for up to 20 months without trial. It ruled that illegal migrants held for more than a year should be released within two weeks.

Right-wing politicians have called for action to limit illegal migration, and rights groups say thousands of African asylum seekers have been coerced into “voluntary” departures.

After Wednesday’s releases there will be 550 people remaining in the Holot Detention Center, according to the prison authorities.

Up until this week, over 2,500 African migrants and asylum seekers were detained the “open” Holot facility in the Negev, where inmates are required to check in during morning and evening hours but are free to leave during the day.

Since 2006, Israel has struggled to establish and implement a clear legal framework to deal with the large influx of migrants, resulting in confusing and often conflicting ad hoc immigration policies.

The influx has slowed dramatically of late, as Israel has sealed off its border with Egypt more effectively.

The vast majority of African migrants living in Israel claim asylum seeker status, but the state has recognized fewer than 1% as asylum claimers and, since 2009, less than 0.15% — the lowest rate in the Western world.