Illegal African immigrants
Illegal African immigrantsIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Illegal infiltrators from Sudan and other African countries should be given water and food and placed on a return trip across the border where they came from, suggests Kadima Knesset Member Aryeh Bibi.

However, the government is going ahead with its own solution to the problem of tens of thousands of Africans seeking a better life in the small Jewish State, a situation which is threatening the Jewish majority and employment opportunities for Israelis.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asked the Cabinet Sunday morning to approve a temporary detention center, which would give the illegal immigrants social services in a concentrated area until they are deported or are granted asylum.

National Union chairman and Knesset Member Yaakov (Ketzaleh) Katz has repeatedly warned that illegal immigrants, from Asia as well as from Africa have effectively "conquered entire neighborhoods” in southern Tel Aviv.

Two weeks ago, a Cabinet-level committee approved a bill proposed by MK Katz for the construction of a fence along the border between Israel and Egypt.

The Interior Ministry backs the Prime Minister’s idea of a detention center, but Public Security Minister Yitzchak Aharonovitch objects to its being under the supervision of the Prison Authority. He explained that are too many unanswered questions concerning the status of the infiltrators and whether they are allowed to come and go as they please from the center.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said the “growing and threatening wave” of infiltrators threatens the nature of the country, and one of his solutions is to place heavy fines on employers who illegally hire immigrants who have no work permits.

He indirectly rejected the idea of deporting them, saying, "We have to offer them lodging, food and social services.” The government currently allows infiltrators to remain in Israel for one year, during which time they can ask for asylum.

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz told the Cabinet that the fence under construction will not stop infiltrators from finding ways to sneak into the country, and that detention centers are acceptable in Europe.

The United States routinely deports illegal immigrants, and illegal immigrants who do not infiltrate into Israel but who simply outstay their visas are also deported by the government.