Israel says it won’t forcibly deport illegal African migrants, but it wants them to leave
By William Booth and Ruth Eglash, Published: December 20 E-mail the writer
KTSIOT, Israel — In the empty desert, workers are building an answer to a difficult question: What should Israel, a nation built by Jewish refugees, do about the 55,000 African migrants who entered this country illegally, fleeing famine, bondage and war?
The newly constructed “open facility” is designed to hold up to 3,300 illegal immigrants. It is not a prison, but not exactly a shelter, either. Residents will be required to answer roll call three times a day. They are not allowed to seek work. The facility is surrounded by a fence topped with spools of razor wire, and the migrants will be locked down at night.
The Israelis do not want to forcibly deport the “infiltrators,” as they are called here. Nor do they want them to stay. The country is looking for ways to push the Africans to leave voluntarily, and the detention facility is one way to give them a shove.
The struggle over what to do with the asylum seekers, refugees and others who entered the country illegally parallels similar debates in Europe and the United States. But in Israel, the issue is further complicated by religion.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/israel-says-it-wont-forcibly-deport-illegal-african-migrants-but-it-wants-them-to-leave/2013/12/20/1c81d8be-5cf2-11e3-8d24-31c016b976b2_story.html
