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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel: Army expels 91 Africans |
| 2008-09-03 |
| (AKI) - The Israeli army recently expelled 91 Africans who crossed the border into Israel from Egypt - in violation of its own procedures, the Jerusalem Post daily reported on Tuesday. In an affidavit presented to an Israeli court on Monday, obtained by The Jerusalem Post, the state admitted that the illegal immigrants, had been deported to Egypt on four separate occasions between 23 and 29 August. The immigrants reportedly came from Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia. "We clarified to the officers in the field that they did not act in accordance with the binding commands regarding 'coordinated return,'" Lt.-Col. Yoel Strick, who is in charge of most of the border between Egypt and Israel, wrote in Monday's affidavit. The army is required to decide within three to six hours whether to expel illegal African immigrants entering Israel, on the basis of their replies to a standard questionnaire completed by the soldier who intercepts them. The Israeli state stressed that the expulsions had been conducted in coordination with Cairo and added that Egypt had informed Israel the illegal migrants would be dealt with by Egyptian legal authorities. Hotline for Migrant Workers attorney Anat Bendor charged, however, that Egypt had not guaranteed that the Africans would not be returned to their home countries. Sudanese refugees from Darfur face the threat of death, while the UN refugee agency has issued orders stating that all countries must grant temporary asylum with the right to work to refugees from Eritrea. "The policy of 'coordinated return' grossly violates Israel's legal obligations towards refugees fleeing for their lives," Bendor said, cited by the Jerusalem Post. "And the first one is the prohibition to return refugees to the place where their lives are in danger or where they might be tortured." The affidavit filed Monday was attached to a response by the state on behalf of the Defence Ministry after a group of human rights organisations headed by the Hotline for Migrant Workers asked the court for an interim injunction to suspend the "coordinated return" procedure until it ruled on the core of the petition to prohibit the procedure altogether. In May, the Israeli state informed the High Court that it was training soldiers to carry out the immediate expulsion of Africans, in coordination with Egyptian authorities and in accordance with regulations prepared by the high command. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 standard questionnaire Are you a professional with a salable skill? Do you have a job? Do you have medical insurance? Do you have any money? Then go back to where you came from and sort it out. We're full up! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-09-03 08:49 |