Israeli officials on Sunday started issuing notices to African migrants in the country urging them to leave the country or face jail term in a major crackdown on illegal migrants.
The Israeli government issued the notice which would affect thousands of African migrants who would be compensated to enable them travel back to their countries.
In January this year Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the intended deportation plan would affect about 38,000 migrants who entered the country illegally.
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.
Local media Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reports that people from Eritrea and Sudan make up a significant number of migrants in Israel.
The Prime Minister of Israel Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that allowing African migrants into the country unchecked is a threat to Israel’s Jewish character.
In a rather shocking turn of events in January there were reports 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 African migrants were expecting to be given safe passage to Uganda and Rwanda if they refuse to return to their home countries but these countries have denied the reports.
Some rights groups and the United Nations have condemned Israel’s action.
Source: Africafeeds.com
