Israel dispatched aid to Peru Sunday and granted citizenship to 500 African refugees fleeing slaughter by Islamists in Darfur, Sudan.
Israel sent $20,000 to Lima, Peru in order to purchase and distribute blankets and tents for those affected by the earthquake that struck last Wednesday, killing over 500 people. A 6.0 aftershock hit the region again Sunday morning.
No members of the 3,000-member Jewish community in Peru were reported injured and though Peru is a popular destination for Israeli post-army trekkers, no Israelis were reported injured in the quake either. One Israeli man was found dead in his hotel, however, though rescuers said his death appeared unconnected. The Israeli Embassy in Lima was damaged by the 8.0 quake.
500 Darfur Refugees Given Asylum
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced Sunday that he has ordered 500 Darfur refugees be given Israeli citizenship and absorption assistance.
Olmert added, however, that other African refugees, who continue to attempt to enter Israel from Egypt, will be turned away. Fifty such Africans were transported back to Egypt Saturday night.
Israel estimates that 2,800 Africans, 1,160 of them Sudanese, have crossed the Egypt-Negev border region in recent years.