South Sudanese asylum seekers may not be deported

South Sudanese asylum seekers slated to be deported in three days may have won a reprieve, Maariv reported Thursday.

A number of factors, including escalating violence in Sudan, the South Sudanese community’s request to President Shimon Peres to stay the Interior Ministry order, and a petition to the High Court, may have granted the refugees additional time in Israel.

Currently, Foreign Ministry policy calls for returning the asylum seekers to South Sudan, even against their will. In the coming days the ministry will explore the possibility of changing the policy.

On Thursday, foreign community assistance organizations petitioned the High Court to review Interior Minister Eli Yishai’s decision to go ahead with the deportation.

According to the Interior Ministry, there are currently 3,000 migrants from South Sudan in Israel. Visiting human rights activist Simon Deng, however, says only 700 South Sudanese are presently in the country, and since many are voluntarily leaving, at the end of the month only 400 will be left.

As of Thursday morning the Foreign Ministry did not announce any shift in their position, but ministry sources said they are expecting the report of an envoy who recently visited South Sudan and are considering changing their policy based on the worsening security situation there, as well as investigating the policies of other countries on this issue.

Raphael Ahren contributed to this report.