Israel offering military aid to African countries willing to accommodate immigrants
Israel is nearing agreements with a number of African states to provide them with military and other assistance in return for their willingness to accept tens of thousands of immigrants, the Hebrew daily Yediot Ahronot
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Israel is nearing agreements with a number of African states to provide them with military and other assistance in return for their willingness to accept tens of thousands of immigrants, the Hebrew daily Yediot Ahronot reported on Tuesday.
Around 55,000 African labor migrants and asylum seekers have infiltrated into Israel over a decade. Some 36,000 are from Eritrea, 14,000 come from North Sudan and Darfur, and the remaining 5,000 arrived from nations such as Ghana, Liberia, Congo and the Ivory Coast, according to the latest data from Israel’s Interior Ministry.
Citing a senior Israeli source, Yediot Ahronot reported that at least three countries in Africa have shown readiness to take up an Israeli “package” comprised of military aid, including arms, training and knowhow; agricultural and other civil support; and financial rewards per capita that would benefit their economies.
In exchange, they would absorb tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who claim to have fled political persecution and human- rights violations in their homelands.
Hagai Hadas, Israel’s special envoy, has been leading the negotiations to repatriate the immigrants on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The report neither named the countries inclined to receive the Israeli offer nor disclose details of the agreements being discussed.
The Jerusalem Report, however, disclosed recently that Hadas, a 30-year veteran of the Mossad intelligence agency, has traveled to or was in touch with several African states over the past year in an effort to persuade them to accept the immigrants.
According to the magazine, all the countries approached by Hadas maintain diplomatic ties with Israel and include Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Burundi and others.
In parallel, Israel continues to review ways of repatriating the immigrants to their countries of origin pending that they are not harmed upon their return, Yediot Ahronot said.
Last week, Netanyahu boasted a dramatic 99 percent drop in the number of illegal immigrants reaching Israel. Since the beginning of 2013, only 34 have made it across the Egyptian border, compared to nearly 10,000 in the same period the previous year, the Prime Minister’s Office reported.
Netanyahu attributed the success in stemming the influx to a 1 billion US dollar hi-tech fence that stretches the entire 240- kilometer long border.
Source: Global Times
Semere July 11, 2013
This is tantamount to Human Trafficking. None of the African countries mentioned is politically stable. All these countries are already hosting political refugees from their neighbours and we all know their conditions. I can imagine the human tragedy involved in the process of repatriation, journey and resettlement in a new country. Pope Francis should travel to Israel and appeal the way he he did at Lampedusa – Malta. I feel extremely sad for the 36,000 Eritrean who are living not knowing their fate in the near future. The UN should also intervene and stop this dehumanizing plan. Human being are not like goats or chicken to be sold in such shameful manner.
abel July 11, 2013
Eritrea wouldn’t mind to take them in exchange for anything even Sick Australian sheeps.
Said July 11, 2013
it is very good of you hiding behind the desk talking crazy. show me if you got a bowl. well let’s be a man about it. we need men and not welfare reform talk is cheap. don’t hide man. united against the dictator.
ida July 11, 2013
Very funny!
ida July 11, 2013
There is nothing worse than Sinai and what is going on in Egypt and Israel. People should stay in their own countries and fight for justice and die like a person instead of like a goat.
Said July 11, 2013
ida my friends. you started it and will follow you. either will be behind you on front of you just started. and tell me the date and time. united against dictator
Said July 11, 2013
this thing is hunting us every corner we turn, here we go again.
Tamrat Tamrat July 11, 2013
What is wrong With you eritreans? You have made hell for all Ethiopians for more than 30 years. You made happy all african and ethiopian enemies happy in making a havoc of civil war. You declared independency they way you wanted. And now you dont want to live in the very land millions sacrificed. What is realy going on in Your head? From such little country so much trouble and so much immigrants. 36,000 here 80,000 there!!
NEW HOPE ERITREA July 11, 2013
¨ ISRAEL WHATEVER YOU DO DO NOT SEND ERITREAN REFUGEES TO ETHIOPIA ¨
The humanity,as we are already in the diaspora there is no need for us to go back to Eritrea, Foreigners need Cab drivers ,and we kind of like it here.I mean going from DALLAS to DEMBELLAS is not very sexy.
But to those who are already going to be deported sending them to Ethiopia is inhumane .Yes ,they will live practically like citzens ,no food or security concerns & the abbysinians who are known for their hospitality will show them nothing but compassion. That is the dirtiest trick of the Ethiopians ,putting Eritreans in University ,allowing those who get settlement the right to move ,and letting them work in the rest of Ethiopia although they know there are elements secret agents of our government.
They will give them the right to organize ,relative freedom of speech and special prefference .
Well Ethiopia ,we had all that before and we fought for 30+++ years to change that.You are spoiling our kids that the Italians allowed our fathers upto grade four & EPLF/PFDJ until Sawa school of promiscuisity & free rape …the inhumanity ,you always were the most unfair colonizers .ARE YOU GOING TO TEACH THEM YOUR BRAND OF TIGRINYA…turnning them from HIZBE TIGRINYA to TIGRAWOT of ERITREA ???
Ethiopia, we are not used to such inhumane treatment .AT LEAST UNTIL THEY GET USED TO YOUR TREATMENT PUT THEM IN A BASEMENT ,sothat they feel LIKE THEY ARE IN ERITREAN PRISONS
rugumat amHarun tegarun !!!!
NEW HOPE ERITREA July 11, 2013
It is really hard being the only proud son of proud family ,it is normal to be slave minded with so many citzens of mine .I wish I could do it ,it is my parents fault instead of eating leftover canned sardins of fascists they used to stick screwdriver in pro Italian behinds.
I wish I were like you my people.
Hailu July 11, 2013
Israel this will be a death sentence to Eritreans if return to the dictator
We Eritreans must thank the Jews state and request them also to be patient some more until the dictator is removed.
It is not easy for any country to host huge number of immigrants while their economy is also in danger.However, being this the fact, Israel has also an obligation to support these Eritrean refugees whom will be endangered if they return to the dictator back home.
Israel is desperate to repatriate the refugees and asked many western countries which they denied.And now they are trying the poor third world countries if they can be bribed to take those refugees, take their rewards and throw those refugees any where in their countries where no one can hear them after wards.
Israel plan is very dangerous and very bad lesson to other countries too “asha zitekelo lebam neyneklo ” this trend will later be as a model by many other countries and humanity will be lost for ever.
We also feel the burden the Israel are bearing, however, they mus also equally understood the rapidly changing dynamics of the world.
The flow of refugees for economic ,political and persecution reasons will never stop in the world. However, countries need to realise that this exodus of people is permanently shaping the whole world in terms of race,culture and religion.
Same is true to Israel and the Gulf countries who are reluctant to accept refugees and reserve giving citizenships.
When it comes to Eritrean authorities, they will not back from even requesting Israel to give them this offer.Let alone young energetic and matured Eritreans, they accepted sheep rejected by many countries from Australia.
The only dream the Eritrean authorities look is the huge amount of dollars they ill get and also the military aid,but for the Eritreans if it happens it will be a death sentence by the Israelis and they will perish in the hands of the dictator.
Please Israle, Jews people give them refugee, we never dream we will migrate to Israel we were self contained in our country with good values and enough resources.
Obang July 14, 2013
If you do not want for an eritrean to be sent to Ethiopa from israel, then why not you talk to your goverment to send them to your beloved Eritrea. The dictator is more than happy to take them. But as people who lost every hope to live in your homeland you have no choice but to go any country which happnes to be willing to provide you shelter. And Ethiopia has been doing everything to support Eritreans in their time of misery despite what thier government is doing to distabilize it and some thankless eritrean refugees who made their way to Europe an d North America via Ethiopia.
josef July 15, 2013
According Reuters today Israel have started deporting immigrants to Eritrea by force.