In a rather shocking turn of events, there are reports in Israel that pilots working with the country’s national airline, El AI, have reportedly refused to fly African immigrants being deported from Israel.
Many of these immigrants have been seeking asylum in the Middle East country whose government has issued a notice for African migrants to leave the country or face jail term.
The Times of Israel is reporting that the pilots disagree with Israel’s strict new laws.
The move by the pilots is however seen as mainly symbolic since the airline did not have direct flights to the affected African countries.
Some of the pilots posted on Facebook that they refused to participate in the deportations widely condemned by human rights group.
Per the initial plan of the Israeli government each migrant is to be given up to $3,500 to leave to their home countries.
All migrants who refuse to leave will be jailed by the government of Israel from April, the notice said.
Local media Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reports that people from Eritrea and Sudan make up a significant number of migrants in Israel.
The UN refugee agency has described the move by Israel as a violation of international and Israeli laws.
The order however exempts children, elderly people and victims of slavery and human trafficking.
Source: Africafeeds.com
