African asylum seekers in a detention center in southern Israel began a hunger strike after the first seven Eritreans who refused to leave the country were jailed.
The hunger strike by 750 asylum seekers detained at the Holot open detention facility began Tuesday night after the seven men were transferred to the nearby Saharonim Prison. The strikers are refusing food and water, according to reports.
A group of more than 100 Eritreans in Holot had until Sunday to decide whether to go to a third country in Africa, believed to be Rwanda or Uganda, or go to prison, according to the Times of Israel. Dozens of others have received notices upon renewing their temporary visas that they have two months to decide.
JTA