Here are some basic facts about the current policy regarding asylum seekers: "Asylum seeker" in these facts and international law means one who is seeking the status of a "refugee." "Refugee" means all who have fled from persecution due to their ethnicity, political affiliation, religion and gender.

 

1) Egyptian soldiers regularly shoot in the direction of asylum seekers trying to flee Egypt into Israel. In Egypt refugees face police brutality and racism and violence from citizens. At least dozens of refugees have been killed by Egyptian policemen -- the numbers are most likely higher than those reported. Egypt openly says it has the right to shoot at asylum seekers.

 

2) Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of asylum seekers are immediately deported by the IDF to Egypt in a so-called "coordinated return" or the "hot return" policy. Dozens of these returned refugees have "disappeared" and at least twenty are known to have been deported back to Sudan, where their fate is also unknown there. Many of these refugees have surely been killed, considering the fact that many have definitely been killed at the border before entering Israel.

 

3) All who attempt to cross the fence and cross the fence into Israel are called “migrant workers” or “infiltrators.” They are not recognized as asylum seekers. Of those who do manage to make it across the border fence alive, there is close to no process of applying for political asylum:

 

4) Sudanese (both from South Sudan and Darfur) and Eritreans are given a sort of collective protection as a group called "humanitarian asylum." They make up around 85% of all asylum seekers They are not given work visas, only tourist visas that can be renewed every one to three months, and can be deported as group any day, depending on the whims of the government. They work despite it being illegal for them to do so, because they do not get any government support at all, but finding work is incredibly difficult without official visas. The government has not taken any action against those employed, but their status is usually "conditional release" from prison, making employment even more difficult. An exception to this are around 600 Darfurians who received Israeli ID cards, which need to be renewed every year and which allow them to legally work.

 

5) They cannot leave the country or apply for asylum in other countries, because they are under "conditional release" from prison. They do not receive any language instruction or educational opportunities unless they are under 18. Even those who are under 18 are often now allowed in schools. In Eilat, the municipality does not let refugee children study in schools. Instead, they have this sort of alternative school only for refugees, and are not integrated into society.

 

6) Those who are not given "humanitarian asylum" include those from Somalia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and other countries. These asylum seekers apply for “political asylum” to the National Status Granting Body (NSGB), made up of representatives from the different ministries, which interviews the refugees on an individual bases and gives recommendations to the Ministry of Interior's Refugee Status Unit. Almost ALL recommendations are rejected by the MOI’s Refugee Status Unit, including those from Somalia, without any connection to the merits of their case. The NSGB often does not meet at all and is not transparent when it does meet.

 

7) Regarding legislation:

 

The IDF uses the Infiltration Prevention bill of 1954 which allows deportations, ignoring the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Refugees from 1951. According to Stephen Lendman, “Israel’s 1954 Prevention of Infiltration Law was enacted to criminalize fedayeen freedom fighters, deny Palestinians their right of return, and deport them if they came.” The last government and current government proposed an updated Infiltration Prevention bill but this was tabled – instead the government vows to amend the current Infiltration Prevention Bill from 1954 to allow for immediate deportations of asylum seekers. This is already happening at the border, but now it would be legal.

 

The Geneva Convention from 1951 was written with the help of Israel and certainly signed by Israel – it was created after Jews were deported to their death. Now the government wants to make sure it is not applicable.