Israel has begun to release hundreds of African migrants following a ruling from the Supreme Court.
Advertisement
Current Israeli law allows refugees to be detained without charge.
“If we will be forced to intensify our battle on the subject, I will not hesitate to call all residents to rally and fight together for the peace of the city”, Ben Hamo wrote on his Facebook.
A recent court decision ordered Israel to release the illegal migrants held for more than a year at a detention centre in the Negev desert, a ruling affecting 1,178 of the asylum-seekers. Both cities have a healthy migrant population, and the government fears overcrowding. Also, the released inmates are set to get a $156-dollar stipend, plus water, food, and medicine, The Times of Israel reported. Most were expected to head to Arad, Ashkelon and Ashdod in the south, Rishon Lezion and Yavneh in the center, and Haifa in the north, Channel 2 said.
The migrants are due to be released on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to reports. “Where do I go now?” “I don’t know. It’s very hard”. I don’t have money to rent an apartment. “I don’t know what to do”, Hussein said. “We were stuck in Holot (detention centre) for 18-20 months, the state tells you at first that “you will go to a shelter where it will be decided whether you are a refugee or not”, and then after 18 months we’re told “that’s it, go away from here”. They are officially barred from working, though they can still find under-the-table jobs in the service industry.
Many migrants leaving the detention facility yesterday said they would go to other, smaller cities, where they hoped to find menial jobs.
Israel’s 50,000 African migrants, most from strife-ridden Eritrea and Sudan, say they are fleeing conflict and persecution and are seeking refugee status.
Following the discharge process – which involves providing released migrants with supplies, financial compensation, documentation and medical certificates for those who need – authorities will provide the asylum seekers with a release letter, a sandwich and soft drink.
Israel’s 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.
Advertisement
The Infiltration Prevention Act, which was approved in December 2014, enables the detention of asylum-seekers who entered the country illegally.
