By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
JERUSALEM, Israel-In a heavy criticized decision, Israel Prison Service (IPS) opened a new detention facility for African migrants on Thursday. IPS began the process of moving 480 migrants who are currently held in a prison in Saharonim, with 50 migrants moved so far.
The transfer was made possible after the Knesset passed an amendment to Israel’s anti-infiltration law last Tuesday. This new entry follows the Israel Supreme Court’s cancellation of a previous amendment due to it being disproportionate.
The new amendment will reduce the maximum amount of time a migrant can be held in a detention facility, while creating a default of open detention indefinitely for migrants. The facility will currently hold 1,000 people with expansions to 3,300 in the next few months.
“We are determined to deport the tens of thousands of illegal migrants who are here after having reduced to zero the number of illegal labor migrants who enter Israel’s cities,” said Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
He further stated, “The steps that we unanimously approved today are proportionate and necessary for maintaining the Jewish and democratic character of the state and will restore security to Israel’s citizens while upholding the directives of the High Court of Justice and international law.”
Agitated human rights groups have called the new facility a “de facto” prison. A group of Israeli human rights activists said detention of African asylum seekers “is not only draconian, undemocratic, and a fatal blow to human rights, it will also do nothing to help the already marginalized residents of South Tel Aviv.”
Marc Grey, spokesperson for the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said, “We don’t see this as an improvement…The law itself, whether it’s three years or one year…it’s still just absolutely a massive violation of asylum seekers’ rights.”
The Israeli government addressed these concerns by saying “the law creates a suitable balance between the right of the State of Israel to defend its borders and prevent infiltration, and its obligation to act in a humanitarian manner toward anyone within its borders and protect the human rights due to every person.”
Police Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonvitch, also rejected the claims that it resembled a prison. “I invited the press in order not to conceal anything. I wanted you to see it with your own eyes. This will be a fenced site allowing entrance and exit through a main gate,” Aharonvitch said.
For more information, please see the following:
Al Jazeera-Israel opens ‘de facto jail’ for migrants-12 December 2013
Haaretz-Israel’s new holding center for African migrants opens Thursday-12 December 2013
Jerusalem Post-Israel to begin using ‘open’ detention facility for migrants-12 December 2013
Telegraph-Israeli to open migrant ‘detention centre’-12 December 2013
