A group of 26 Nigerian Christians have exploited a “pilgrimage” tour of holy sites to illegally remain in Israel, where they visited during a tour of holy sites in Judea and Samaria.
Their infiltration adds to a phenomenon that has spread from the Negev cities of Arad and Dimona to metropolitan Tel Aviv, causing serious concerns among Israeli citizens, who comment on the problem in the video below.
The Israeli tourism ministry has encouraged Christian pilgrimages, especially during Passover when Christians observe Easter, and during Sukkot, known as the Feast of Tabernacles in English. Israeli authorities have required questionable visitors to post extraordinarily high bail to make sure that they do not try to remain in Israel illegally instead of returning home.
However, one recent group of 120 pilgrims from Nigeria included 26 who were willing to forfeit the bail. They toured holy sites in Judea and Samaria, and when the tour group reached southern Israel, the “pilgrims” left and vanished into nearby cities and towns.
The Interior Ministry informed immigration authorities, who still are searching for the Nigerians.