Israel Continues To Illegally Detain African Asylum-Seekers, Despite High Court Rulings

The Hotline for Refugees and Migrants has petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice, demanding the release of 138 Eritrean and Sudanese asylum-seekers who have been illegally held in Israeli detention facilities for more than two years, despite High Court rulings against such facilities and detention.

Above: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel Continues To Illegally Detain African Asylum-Seekers, Despite High Court Rulings
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

The Hotline for Refugees and Migrants has petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice, demanding the release of 138 Eritrean and Sudanese asylum-seekers who have been illegally held in Israeli detention facilities for more than two years, despite High Court rulings against such facilities and detention, Ha’aretz reported.

The 138 asylum-seekers were initially imprisoned under the third amendment to the Prevention of Infiltration Law, which was ruled illegal by the High Court last year. In that rulings, the High Court ordered that all the imprisoned asylum seekers had to be immediately released.

But Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his government ignored the court’s ruling and kept the asylum-seekers in detention for three more months. The government then transferred them to the Holot detention facility – which Netanyahu and the government claimed was not an actual detention facility or prison.

The High Court rejected that claim last month when it rejected the fourth amendment to the Prevention of Infiltration Law, noting that the facility was located in a remote desert area far from civilization, and allowing asylum-seekers to leave the facility for several hours each day, but mandating that they return for several head counts each day and a nightly bed check and curfew, after which the facility’s gates were locked for the rest of the evening and night, was a form of illegal detention.

But the government still failed to release the detainees, and MK Ayelet Shaked, the Knesset faction chairwoman of the Zionist Orthodox right-wing HaBayit HaYehudi Party, a coalition partner, is now proposing a new bill that would allow a simple majority of Knesset members to overrule any High Court of Justice or Supreme Court ruling. (By contrast, the coalition supported a bill that demanded a large super majority of Knesset member votes accept any decision made by a government to cede land to Palestinians or to neighboring Arab countries in any peace deal. Shaked was a strong supporter of that bill.) The government’s conduct with regard to the High Court rulings and Shaked’s proposed “solution” to dealing with the High Court have called Israel’s commitment to democracy into question, some observers say.

None of the 138 asylum-seekers have been free since entering Israel. Every one of them has requested asylum – some over one years ago – but few have even received a reply from the government and none has been given refugee status, even though international refugee experts say they qualify. Of the thousands of non-Jewish African asylum-seekers in Israel who have tried to get refugee status over the past several years, the number who have been granted official refugee status is in the low single digits.

The petition on the asylum-seekers’ behalf reportedly cites excerpts from the two previous High Court rulings that overturned the amendments to the law, emphasizing the severe violation of the asylum-seekers’ rights.

The petitioners also reportedly point out that the 138 aylum-seekers do not have any money to hire attorneys and have not received legal aid to do so from the government.

“Not granting this petition in its present form is tantamount to leaving many people to rot in conditions similar to imprisonment for an indefinite period of time,” the petition reportedly reads.

Individual legal proceedings previous brought by two other asylum-seekers, who had been imprisoned for more than two years, ended with their release, and the petitions reportedly argue that the 138 asylum-seekers should have then been released, as well.

The petition also asks the High Court for an emergency hearing to speed up the process and “translate the correct and well-placed [previous] statements of the majority judges…into liberty and dignity for 138 flesh-and-blood human beings.”

Comments

[saddened by the news]

Why Israel does not at least train this people to work in the plantations instead of importing thousands of Philipinos - among people from other countries - every year to do this job that nobody else wants?

It could be a start.

[jancsibacsi]

Every country has the right to decide what is in its own best interest ,i trust that israel knows its own best interest.

[Shmarya]

jannsci –

Israel's High Court of Justice says the detention is illegal. Teh government refuses to follow the law, however, and has kept these non-violent asylum-seekers imprisoned.

If you think that's okay, then why would it be wrong for Hungary, say, round up all Jews and imprison them because its leaders think it is in the country's "best interests"?

[Malka]

Wow, they arrive illegally, then want the State to pay for legal aid to enable them to stay in the country. Even if they did somehow manage to obtain the right to stay, what would they do in Israel? What kind of life would they have?

[jancsibacsi]

Shmarya--They came to israel illigally so you cann't compare the jews of hungary with them for one still if they are illigally there israel has a right to deport them to whatever place they want.

[Shmarya]

Please.

I certainly can make that comparison.

But I'll make another for you. What if a country imprisoned Jews fleeing Hitler in 1936 and tried to send them back to Germany? Would that be okay with you? Because that actually happened and most of those Jews were killed.

The world changed its laws on refugees after WW2 to prevent that from happening ever gain.

Israel is now breaking those laws. Is that really okay with you?

~~~~~~~

Malka –

Many of your ancestors entered countries illegally as refugees seeking asylum. Process that.

[jancsibacsi]

Shmarya--They should stay in the country of origin since its their own country and try to fight there for better condition instead of taking an advange of a country like israe since they know israel is a lenient country and doesnt have harsh punishment like the muslim countrie ,stay in your own country and make it better that is the solution.

[jancsibacsi]

Israel has the right to not take on hardship and burden its citizens with illigals.

[Shmarya]

Then Great Britain, the US and dozens of other countries had the right to make the same decision in 1938 and early 1939 and refuse entry to Jews fleeing Hitler.

And what you claim also means that Israel's commitment to follow international law and the treaties it has agreed to means nothing.

If that's the world you want to live in, understand well its implications and possible outcomes are.

[Malka]

What's happening now in the world is that there is a vast movement of people from undeveloped countries, third world countries, the Southern Hemisphere, whatever you want to call it. Their countries are basically, 'shit tips' with a low standard of living and persecution and corruption. They are desperate to come to western countries for a better life. Even the Muslims prefer to live in The USA, UK and Australia. But, as a previous poster said, they should try to improve their own countries. Can they all move to Israel, Western Europe, USA and Australia? Can they all possible fit in physically, culturally, finically and civilly? Will their own countries one day be desolate and bereft of people due to moving to the goldene medina?

[nachos]

Jancibacsi:
You came here for economic reasons. Many of them are fleeing for their lives.

[moslemlove]

The total land area of arab moslem countries in the region way overwhelms Israel. wtf did they not try to settle in Egypt. for example? because Israels welfare system pays more. If you were an Israeli, paying very high income tax, how would you feel about taking in the tired and the poor. Let the tired and the poor go to Egypt, or any of the other Moslem countries, but Egypt geographically, why not. They are a burden on a country burdened by enemies, by internal enemies (those who refuse to work). WTF should Israel accommodate them. Let the United Nations figure out what to do with them, send them to the southern US porous borders.

[Shmarya]

moslemlove –

No, asshole. These people don't get welfare or any other benefits – even the benefits they are entitled to under international law.

They came to Israel because they are being persecuted and killed in their home countries.

You are sick (and none to bright) racist.

Malka –

Girl, when God passed out brains, he missed your crib.

[Malka]

Why is it that certain left wing types think people who disagree with large scale immigration are thick? They think they are elite and superior and let in no end of people who cause all sorts of problems for society. Then they call people bigoted and racist for having an opinion. So sad.

[Shmarya]

Because, Malka, there is law and the rule of law, and Netanyahu's government is breaking both.

You truly are unintelligent.

You also are a racist.