Jerusalem — Israel said on Wednesday it would pay thousands of African migrants living illegally in the country to leave, threatening them with jail if they were caught after the end of March.

In public remarks at a cabinet meeting on the payment programme, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a barrier Israel completed in 2013 along its border with Egypt had effectively cut off a stream of "illegal infiltrators" from Africa after some 60,000 crossed the desert frontier.

The vast majority came from Eritrea and Sudan and many said they had fled war and persecution as well as economic hardship, but Israel treats them as economic migrants.

The plan launched this week offers African migrants a $3,500 payment from the Israeli government and a free air ticket to return home or go to "third countries", which rights groups identified as Rwanda and Uganda.

"We have expelled about 20,000 and now the mission is to get the rest out," Netanyahu said.

An immigration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were some 38,000 migrants living illegally in Israel and some 1,420 were being held in two detention centres.

"Beyond the end of March, those who leave voluntarily will receive a significantly smaller payment that will shrink even more with time, and enforcement measures will begin," the official said, referring to incarceration.</s>Israel on Wednesday said it would pay thousands of African migrants living illegally in the country to leave, threatening them with jail if they are caught after the end of March.

Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, made the remarks at a cabinet meeting on the payment programme in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu said a barrier Israel completed in 2013 along its border with Egypt had effectively cut off a stream of “illegal infiltrators” from Africa after some 60,000 crossed the desert frontier.

The vast majority came from Eritrea and Sudan and many said they fled war and persecution as well as economic hardship, but Israel treats them as economic migrants.

The plan, launched this week, offers African migrants a $3,500 payment from the Israeli government and a free air ticket to return home or go to “third countries,’’ which rights groups identified as Rwanda and Uganda.

“We have expelled about 20,000 and now the mission is to get the rest out,” Netanyahu said.

An immigration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were some 38,000 migrants living illegally in Israel, while some 1,420 were being held in two detention centres.

“Beyond the end of March, those who leave voluntarily will receive a significantly smaller payment that will shrink even more with time, and enforcement measures will begin,” the official said, referring to incarceration.

Some have lived for years in Israel and work in low-paying jobs that many Israelis shun.

Israel has granted asylum to fewer than one percent of those who have applied and has a years-long backlog of applicants.

Rights groups have accused Israel of being slow to process African migrants’ asylum requests as a matter of policy and denying legitimate claims to the status.

Netanyahu has called the migrants’ presence “a threat to Israel’s social fabric and Jewish character;” and one government minister has referred to them as “a cancer.”

Netanyahu condemned the large presence of African migrants in Tel Aviv’s poorer neighbourhoods, where he said “veteran residents” – a reference to Israelis – no longer feel safe.

“So today, we are keeping our promise to restore calm, a sense of personal security and law and order to the residents of south Tel Aviv and those in many other neighbourhoods,” he said.</s>Image copyright AFP Image caption The migrants claim they are seeking asylum from persecution, although Israel views them as economic migrants

The Israeli government has issued a notice for thousands of African migrants to leave the country or face imprisonment.

The migrants will be given up to $3,500 (£2,600) for leaving within the next 90 days.

They will be given the option of going to their home country or third countries.

If they do not leave, the Israeli authorities have threatened that they will start jailing them from April.

The UN refugee agency said the controversial plan violated international and Israeli laws.

The Israeli government says their return will be humane and "voluntary".

The order exempts children, women, parents of dependent minors and victims of slavery and human trafficking.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption People from Eritrea and Sudan make up a significant number of migrants in Israel

A spokesperson for Israel's Population and Immigration Authority told the BBC there were currently 38,000 "infiltrators" in Israel, of whom just 1,420 were being held in detention facilities.

Israel uses the term "infiltrators" to describe people who did not enter the country through an official border crossing.

Many of the migrants - who are mostly from Eritrea and Sudan - say they came to Israel to seek asylum after fleeing persecution and conflict, but the authorities regard them as economic migrants.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that an unchecked influx of African migrants could threaten Israel's Jewish character.

A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.

Update 5 January 2018: The categories of people who are exempt from the order to leave the country have been updated in this story.</s>Israel plans to force out thousands of African migrants

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israel plans to force tens of thousands of African migrants to leave over the next three months by threatening to arrest those who stay, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.

Under the plan, some 38,000 migrants who entered Israel illegally, mainly Eritreans and Sudanese, will have until the end of March to leave.

Each will receive a plane ticket and $3,500 (2,900 euros) to do so. After March, this amount will decrease and those who continue to refuse to go will face arrest.

Holot, an open facility in Israel’s desert south that can host 1,200 migrants who are allowed to leave to work during the day, is also set to be closed.

When the plan was first announced in November, the United Nations refugee agency expressed concerns.

Netanyahu on Wednesday defended the plan when he spoke about it before a cabinet meeting.

“Every country must maintain its borders, and protecting the borders from illegal infiltration is both a right and a basic duty of a sovereign state,” he said.

Israel tacitly recognises that the Sudanese and Eritreans cannot be returned to their dangerous homelands, so it has signed deals with Rwanda and Uganda, which agree to accept departing migrants on condition they consent to the arrangement, activists say.

Migrants started coming in large numbers across the porous border between Israel and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in 2007, when nearly 5,000 entered, interior ministry figures show.

The government has since completed fencing the border and deploying electronic sensors. In the first six months of last year, no one made it across.

Over the years, those caught at the Egyptian frontier were detained at prisons in the Negev desert in southern Israel.

On release they were given bus tickets to Tel Aviv, arriving at the central bus station on the south side of the city.

Israeli residents of southern Tel Aviv have long complained of their presence and right-wing politicians have pledged to heed calls to force them out, often with harsh rhetoric.

During a visit in August, Netanyahu pledged to “return south Tel Aviv to the citizens of Israel”. adding that the Africans were “not refugees but illegal infiltrators”.

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This post was syndicated from The Independent Uganda:. Click here to read the full text on the original website.</s>Israel plans to force out thousands of African migrants

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israel plans to force tens of thousands of African migrants to leave over the next three months by threatening to arrest those who stay, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.

Under the plan, some 38,000 migrants who entered Israel illegally, mainly Eritreans and Sudanese, will have until the end of March to leave.

Each will receive a plane ticket and $3,500 (2,900 euros) to do so. After March, this amount will decrease and those who continue to refuse to go will face arrest.

Holot, an open facility in Israel’s desert south that can host 1,200 migrants who are allowed to leave to work during the day, is also set to be closed.

When the plan was first announced in November, the United Nations refugee agency expressed concerns.

Netanyahu on Wednesday defended the plan when he spoke about it before a cabinet meeting.

“Every country must maintain its borders, and protecting the borders from illegal infiltration is both a right and a basic duty of a sovereign state,” he said.

Israel tacitly recognises that the Sudanese and Eritreans cannot be returned to their dangerous homelands, so it has signed deals with Rwanda and Uganda, which agree to accept departing migrants on condition they consent to the arrangement, activists say.

Migrants started coming in large numbers across the porous border between Israel and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in 2007, when nearly 5,000 entered, interior ministry figures show.

The government has since completed fencing the border and deploying electronic sensors. In the first six months of last year, no one made it across.

Over the years, those caught at the Egyptian frontier were detained at prisons in the Negev desert in southern Israel.

On release they were given bus tickets to Tel Aviv, arriving at the central bus station on the south side of the city.

Israeli residents of southern Tel Aviv have long complained of their presence and right-wing politicians have pledged to heed calls to force them out, often with harsh rhetoric.

During a visit in August, Netanyahu pledged to “return south Tel Aviv to the citizens of Israel”. adding that the Africans were “not refugees but illegal infiltrators”.

The post Israel plans to force out thousands of African migrants appeared first on The Independent Uganda:.

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This post was syndicated from The Independent Uganda:. Click here to read the full text on the original website.</s>Israel on Wednesday said it would pay thousands of African migrants living illegally in the country to leave, threatening them with jail if they are caught after the end of March.

Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, made the remarks at a cabinet meeting on the payment programme in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu said a barrier Israel completed in 2013 along its border with Egypt had effectively cut off a stream of “illegal infiltrators” from Africa after some 60,000 crossed the desert frontier.

The vast majority came from Eritrea and Sudan and many said they fled war and persecution as well as economic hardship, but Israel treats them as economic migrants.

The plan, launched this week, offers African migrants a $3,500 payment from the Israeli government and a free air ticket to return home or go to “third countries,’’ which rights groups identified as Rwanda and Uganda.

“We have expelled about 20,000 and now the mission is to get the rest out,” Netanyahu said.

An immigration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were some 38,000 migrants living illegally in Israel, while some 1,420 were being held in two detention centres.

“Beyond the end of March, those who leave voluntarily will receive a significantly smaller payment that will shrink even more with time, and enforcement measures will begin,” the official said, referring to incarceration.

Some have lived for years in Israel and work in low-paying jobs that many Israelis shun.

Israel has granted asylum to fewer than one percent of those who have applied and has a years-long backlog of applicants.

Rights groups have accused Israel of being slow to process African migrants’ asylum requests as a matter of policy and denying legitimate claims to the status.

Netanyahu has called the migrants’ presence “a threat to Israel’s social fabric and Jewish character;” and one government minister has referred to them as “a cancer.”

Netanyahu condemned the large presence of African migrants in Tel Aviv’s poorer neighbourhoods, where he said “veteran residents” – a reference to Israelis – no longer feel safe.

“So today, we are keeping our promise to restore calm, a sense of personal security and law and order to the residents of south Tel Aviv and those in many other neighbourhoods,” he said. (Reuters/NAN)</s>Israel on Wednesday said it would pay thousands of African migrants living illegally in the country to leave, threatening them with jail if they are caught after the end of March. Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in public make the remarks at a cabinet meeting on the payment programme in Jerusalem. Netanyahu said a barrier Israel […]

The post Israel to Pay African Migrants to Leave appeared first on BellaNaija.

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This post was syndicated from BellaNaija. Click here to read the full text on the original website.</s>Israel on Wednesday said it would pay thousands of African migrants living illegally in the country to leave, threatening them with jail if they are caught after the end of March. Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in public make the remarks at a cabinet meeting on the payment programme in Jerusalem. Netanyahu said a barrier Israel […]

The post Israel to Pay African Migrants to Leave appeared first on BellaNaija.

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This post was syndicated from BellaNaija. Click here to read the full text on the original website.</s>Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israel plans to force tens of thousands of African migrants to leave over the next three months by threatening to arrest those who stay, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.

Under the plan, some 38,000 migrants who entered Israel illegally, mainly Eritreans and Sudanese, will have until the end of March to leave.

Each will receive a plane ticket and $3,500 (2,900 euros) to do so. After March, this amount will decrease and those who continue to refuse to go will face arrest.

Holot, an open facility in Israel’s desert south that can host 1,200 migrants who are allowed to leave to work during the day, is also set to be closed.

When the plan was first announced in November, the United Nations refugee agency expressed concerns.

Netanyahu on Wednesday defended the plan when he spoke about it before a cabinet meeting.

“Every country must maintain its borders, and protecting the borders from illegal infiltration is both a right and a basic duty of a sovereign state,” he said.

Israel tacitly recognises that the Sudanese and Eritreans cannot be returned to their dangerous homelands, so it has signed deals with Rwanda and Uganda, which agree to accept departing migrants on condition they consent to the arrangement, activists say.

Migrants started coming in large numbers across the porous border between Israel and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in 2007, when nearly 5,000 entered, interior ministry figures show.

The government has since completed fencing the border and deploying electronic sensors. In the first six months of last year, no one made it across.

Over the years, those caught at the Egyptian frontier were detained at prisons in the Negev desert in southern Israel.

On release they were given bus tickets to Tel Aviv, arriving at the central bus station on the south side of the city.

Israeli residents of southern Tel Aviv have long complained of their presence and right-wing politicians have pledged to heed calls to force them out, often with harsh rhetoric.

During a visit in August, Netanyahu pledged to “return south Tel Aviv to the citizens of Israel”. adding that the Africans were “not refugees but illegal infiltrators”.</s>
• African migrants must leave Israel within three months or face imprisonment
• There are 38,000 migrants who entered the country illegally
• Migrants will be given up to $3,500 if they leave in 90 days
• Rwanda said it could take in up to 10,000 migrants

The Israeli government plans to notify thousands of African migrants in the country that they must leave within three months or face imprisonment.

Migrants who do not have a refugee application pending will be given a notice -- instructing them to leave the country or face an indefinite amount of time in prison -- the next time they are obliged to appear at an interior ministry office to renew their residency permits.

"Two options only: voluntary deportation or sitting in prison," Israel's interior minister, Arye Deri, and the public security minister, Gilad Erdan said.

Israel's Population and Immigration Authority told the BBC there are 38,000 migrants who entered the country illegally including 1,420 being held in detention facilities.

The migrants will be given up to $3,500 if they leave Israel within the next 90 days and the country will begin jailing any who remain in April. Children, elderly people, and victims of slavery and human trafficking are exempt from the order.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi criticized the plan.

"The Israeli government's decision to expel 40,000 African asylum seekers is of great concern," he said. "Israel has a painful history of migration and exile. New generations must not forget that refugees do not flee out of choice but because they don't have any other choice."
• Migrants in Libya Sold as Slaves for a Few Hundred Dollars

Most of the migrants entered Israel by crossing through Egypt from Eritrea and Sudan seeking asylum.

The Center for Refugees and Migrants, Amnesty International Israel, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and other groups signed a letter calling for the expulsions to be stopped.

"Anyone who has a heart must oppose the expulsion of the refugees," the letter stated.

Israel's government said the relocation will be humane and voluntary and migrants will have the choice to return to their home country or a third country.

Rwanda said it could take in up to 10,000 people as part of a deal in which Israel would pay the country $5,000 per person.

"Rwanda is not a safe place. All the evidence indicates that anyone expelled from Israel to Rwanda finds himself there without status and without rights, exposed to threats, kidnappings, torture and trafficking," the letter from the activist groups said.

This article has been adapted from its original source.
Israel announces plans to deport African migrants residing in the country illegally. Migrants will be given 90 days to leave the country or face imprisonment.