http://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/deri-warns-2nd-facility-will-be-needed-for-african-migrants/
Deri warns 2nd facility will be needed for African migrants
March 2, 2016, 4:33 pm
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri says if the Supreme Court prevents Israel from expelling illegal immigrants from Africa to third countries, Israel will need to build a second detention facility to house those currently in the country.
Over 3,300 asylum seekers and migrants are currently incarcerated in the Holot detention center in southern Israel, where inmates are required to check in during morning and evening hours but are free to leave during the day.
“The Holot detention center is not enough and we will need to build another large facility,” Deri tells a meeting of the Knesset Interior Committee. “I prefer not to get to that and to work to maximize orderly agreements with other countries”
In August, the Suprme Court ordered the government to free illegal migrants held for more than a year at the site, in a ruling that affected 1,178 asylum seekers.
Official figures show some 47,000 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.
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 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.
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http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Deri-calls-for-increasing-self-deportations-of-illegal-migrants-meets-with-Arab-mayors-446661
Deri calls for increasing self-deportations of illegal migrants, meets with Arab mayors
“We call on the Israeli government to end the lack of planning and housing,” Arab figure involved in issue tells Post.
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas) intends to ramp up efforts to encourage illegal African migrants to self-deport back to the African continent, and would consider building a new facility to jail them if such efforts fail, the minister said on Wednesday.
Deri’s comments came during a meeting of the Knesset Interior and Environment Committee held to examine his ministry’s operations and goals for the coming future.
In January, government officials said that Israel has repatriated some 22,000 illegal African migrants over the last number of years, either to their home countries or third countries, through a combination of positive incentives like one-time stipends and negative incitements like the “Holot” detention facility in the Negev.
The Population, Immigration and Borders Authority said in figures presented by Deri on Wednesday that there are currently some 43,000 African migrants in Israel, most of them from Eritrea and Sudan.
During the meeting, Deri also presented a plan to invest NIS 350 million in 16 Arab local councils in the coming years, which will be earmarked for improving local governance.
Deri was approached by a number of Arab MKs who asked for a freeze on the demolition of any houses in the Arab sector that do not have legal building permits. Deri told them that he does not have the authority to order such a measure.
Deri said during the meeting “there are 50,000 illegally built houses in the Arab sector but in practice only very few are destroyed.”
MK Taleb El-Sana (Joint List) told Deri “a thousand houses in the Negev in one year is not much?”
The ministry sent out a statement after the meeting saying that contrary to reports, no deal had been reached between Deri and Arab MKs to stop home demolitions in the Arab sector.
Jafar Farah, director of the NGO Mossawa Center – The Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel, told The Jerusalem Post that Deri had a good meeting on Tuesday with Arab mayors in Nazareth and that he understood the problems facing their localities.
Deri expressed sympathy to the Arab mayors and municipality heads on the problem of housing and planning in the sector, but said he had no authority since the issue falls under the Finance and Construction ministries, said Farah.
“We call on the Israel government to end the lack of planning and housing and expect the Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Construction Minister Yoav Galant to finish planning Arab villages in the coming year,” he said.
In addition, “we call for the end of house demolitions and for the recognition of unrecognized villages,” he added.
“They have the authority and the budget and there is no reason why they should delay,” argued Farah.
Received on Wed Mar 02 2016 - 13:58:13 EST