Justice minister calls migrant issue ‘national calamity’
Yaakov Neeman tells law conference that Israel is trying to deport the ‘infiltrators’
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Israel is attempting to resettle the population of African migrants who have illegally entered Israel, Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman said Monday.
“Israel is negotiating to remove the population of infiltrators from Israel to their country of origin, wherever possible, or to a third country,” Neeman told members of the Israel Bar Association at its annual conference in Eilat on Monday morning.
Neeman called the refugee issue a “national calamity” and said that dealing with the population of illegal infiltrators would be difficult. The border fence with Egypt, which is in its final stages, will help prevent illegal entry into Israel, he noted.
Despite its efforts to deport the migrants, Neeman said, Israel has ensured that they are supplied with basic humanitarian needs including food, accommodation and medical care until their return to their state of origin or another country.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu estimated last week that there are between 60,000 and 70,000 asylum-seekers from African countries in Israel today. No official statistics are available for the number of Africans in the country illegally.
Earlier this month, Interior Minister Eli Yishai called for the imprisonment and deportation of illegal immigrants to Israel. A report leaked last week also indicated that the Foreign Ministry considers the deportation of South Sudanese refugees a viable legal recourse.
The Times of Israel Community.