Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08TELAVIV463
2008-02-28 13:29:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

RAIDS OUTRAGE HUMANITARIAN COMMUNITY AS GOI CRACKS

Tags:  PREF PHUM PGOV IS EG SU ER IV 
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RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #0463/01 0591329
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 281329Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5598
INFO RUEHAB/AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN 0010
RUEHAE/AMEMBASSY ASMARA 0025
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0027
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 9170
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0582
C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 000463 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2018
TAGS: PREF PHUM PGOV IS EG SU ER IV
SUBJECT: RAIDS OUTRAGE HUMANITARIAN COMMUNITY AS GOI CRACKS
DOWN ON AFRICAN ASYLUM SEEKERS

REF: A. TEL AVIV 441

B. 2007 TEL AVIV 2547

Classified By: A/DCM Marc Sievers for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 000463

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2018
TAGS: PREF PHUM PGOV IS EG SU ER IV
SUBJECT: RAIDS OUTRAGE HUMANITARIAN COMMUNITY AS GOI CRACKS
DOWN ON AFRICAN ASYLUM SEEKERS

REF: A. TEL AVIV 441

B. 2007 TEL AVIV 2547

Classified By: A/DCM Marc Sievers for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On February 24, following extensive Israeli
media coverage of the African refugee issue, Prime Minister
Olmert ordered relevant government authorities to remove
illegal infiltrators who entered Israel via the Egyptian
border, if the infiltrators had no legal restrictions on
deportation. (Most asylum seekers in Israel register with
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and thus are
officially protected from deportation prior to their Refugee
Status Determination.) On February 25, at one location in the
presence of surprised UNHCR officials, Immigration Police
seized more than 240 asylum seekers - largely Eritreans and
Ivoirians, reportedly including some children - who were
temporarily residing in Tel Aviv shelters. Several Knesset
members voiced strong opposition to the raids during a
February 26 meeting of the Knesset Committee of Foreign
Workers. It is unknown at this time whether the GOI intends
to keep these asylum seekers in custody if/when their UNHCR
registration is confirmed. NGOs are filing court battles to
release the asylum seekers, and challenging the police
action. END SUMMARY.

-------------- --------------
Prime Minister Orders Deportation of "Illegal Infiltrators"
-------------- --------------


2. (SBU) On February 24, following a week in which the
growing number of African asylum seekers (Reftel A) was
featured prominently in the Israeli media, Prime Minister
Olmert directed the Interior Ministry, the Public Security
Ministry, and the Immigration Police to remove within the
week all "illegal infiltrators" who entered Israel via the
Egyptian border and who are not legally protected from
deportation. (Asylum seekers who register with the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) - as the vast majority of
asylum seekers in Israel do - are officially protected from
deportation prior to their Refugee Status Determination, a

process that often takes months due to the current backlog
described in Reftel A.) According to the Prime Minister's
media advisor, numerous cabinet members, including Defense
Minister Barak, Interior Minister Sheetrit, and Public
Security Minister Dichter, discussed the issue. Olmert
ordered security officials to tighten supervision of the
Egyptian border and instructed that "infiltrators" be
transferred to detention centers. The Prime Minister also
ordered an increase in personnel who question asylum seekers,
and instructed Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Director-General
Dinur to present a daily progress report and to hold a
meeting in approximately three weeks to evaluate progress on
the issue.

-------------- --------------
Immigration Police Raid Refugee Shelters, Place More than 240
in Detention
-------------- --------------


3. (SBU) On February 25, the Immigration Police raided the
area around Tel Aviv's old central bus station and took more
than 240 asylum seekers into custody, most from Eritrea and
Cote d'Ivoire. Human rights organizations charged that
police entered three shelters without a warrant. News
organizations and a UNHCR representative reported that dozens
of Ivoirian asylum seekers were arrested while awaiting a
meeting with UNHCR representatives. The Immigration Police
denied both charges. NGO Hotline for Migrant Workers
(Hotline) said detainees were taken to an Immigration Police
office in Holon, where Interior Ministry officials held
hearings for about 120, according to Ha'aretz. Hearings for
the remaining detainees were expected to be conducted on
February 26. Ha'aretz reported that a few detainees with
documents showing they were in the advanced stages of
receiving UNHCR certification as refugees were released,
while the rest were taken to either Ma'asiyashu Prison or
Immigration Police facilities in Hadera.

-------------- --------------
UNHCR "Furious", Raids Continue, Mass Arrests Ordered?
-------------- --------------


4. (C) A UNHCR official told Embassy Refugee Reporting
Officer (RRO) they were "furious" about the arrests, which he
said were in violation of both the 1951 Refugee Convention

and Israeli rules, and that his organization was working to
reinforce the "prior agreed arrangement" with the GOI not to
arrest registered asylum seekers until their refugee status
determination was complete. Hotline noted that the police
denied they had entered the shelters, but press photos showed
them emerging from the shelters with asylum seekers in
custody. According to Hotline, Population Administration
Chief Yaakov Ganot (essentially #2 at Interior) said during a
meeting with several NGOs and numerous government officials,
including Tel Aviv Deputy Mayor Ayal Dayan, that Israel had
given status to all refugees (Reftel A) and that all the
other asylum seekers were migrant workers. The raids
continued on February 26 and 27. Hotline reported that an
Israeli volunteer who attempted to deny access to the police
at one of the shelters was also arrested. A confidential
source told RRO that that the Israel chief of police ordered
his officers to arrest 300 asylum seekers per day,
"protection papers or not."

-------------- --------------
Knesset Members and NGOs Attack Decision, NGOs Take Issue to
Court
-------------- --------------


5. (SBU) A February 26 meeting of the Knesset Committee on
Foreign Workers discussed the handling of asylum requests.
Representatives of the PMO, Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality, The
Local Government Authority, UNHCR, Hotline, and NGO
Physicians for Human Rights were among those in attendance.
According to Hotline, a larger number of MKs than normal for
such meetings were present, several of whom expressed anger
at the raids of the previous day. Hotline and the Tel Aviv
University Refugee Rights Legal Education Clinic lawyers
continued to press the issue of the asylum seekers in court
February 27 as part of an ongoing challenge to the "hot
return" of 48 African refugees to Egypt on August 19, 2007.
(Reftel B)

-------------- --------------
As Population of Asylum Seekers Grows, So Does Media Coverage
of the Issue
-------------- --------------


6. (U) The Prime Minister's announcement and the subsequent
raids came on the heels of extensive coverage of the rising
tide of African asylum seekers by a number of Israeli media
organizations leading into the weekend. A February 21
Jerusalem Post article noted the squalid conditions described
in Reftel A, and the reported shooting the previous weekend
of an Eritrean woman - and arrest of her two daughters, ages
eight and ten - by Egyptian border guards. The article also
echoed views found in most of the other reports when it said
"These people didn't make the brutal, potentially fatal
journey from Africa just to find temporary work ... they're
looking for a long-term solution. 'I want asylum,' said
John. 'I expect the Israeli government to do something to
help me.'"

--------------
Next Steps Unclear
--------------


7. (C) GOI official policy regarding the arrests remains
unclear. It is unknown whether the raids were ordered by the
PMO or were an independent decision of the police in response
to the Prime Minister's statement. It also remains to be
seen whether some or all of the detainees will be released
if/when their UNHCR registration is confirmed, all will
remain in detention until their final refugee status
determination, or if Israeli authorities plan to expedite the
determinations and any subsequent deportations.

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