Israel court suspends plan to deport African migrants

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu in January announced implementation of the programme to remove migrants who entered illegally, giving them a choice between leaving voluntarily or facing imprisonment

Jerusalem, March 15: Israel's Supreme Court on Thursday suspended a controversial government plan to deport thousands of Eritrean and Sudanese migrants in response to a challenge from those opposed to the move.

The court said in its decision the state was given until March 26 to provide further information and the suspension on deporting them to a third country would remain in place until then.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in January announced implementation of the programme to remove migrants who entered illegally, giving them a choice between leaving voluntarily or facing indefinite imprisonment with eventual forced expulsion.

According to interior ministry figures, there are currently some 42,000 African migrants in Israel, half of them children, women or men with families, who are not facing immediate deportation.

As the migrants could face danger or imprisonment if returned to their homelands, Israel is offering to relocate them to an unnamed African country, which deportees and aid workers say is Rwanda or Uganda.

Migrants began entering Israel through what was then a porous Egyptian border in 2007. The border has since been strengthened, all but ending illegal crossings.

Israel's deportation or imprisonment plan has drawn criticism from the United Nations refugee agency as well as from some Israelis and rights activists.