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