Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he wants Eritrean refugees and migrants to be involved in a violent clashes in Tel Aviv must be expelled immediately and ordered a plan to deport all African migrants from the country.
The remarks come a day after bloody protests staged by rival groups of Eritreans in south Tel Aviv left dozens injured.
“We want tough action against the rioters, including the immediate expulsion of those who participated,” Netanyahu told a special ministerial meeting convened to deal with the aftermath of Sunday’s violence.
He demanded that ministers present him with plans “for the elimination of all other illegal infiltrators”, and noted in his remarks that the Supreme Court had struck down some measures intended to compel refugees to leave.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has convened a special ministerial team to assess ways to deal with law-breaking infiltrators, following yesterday’s unrest and violent events in Tel Aviv.
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— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 3, 2023
Under international law, Israel cannot forcibly return migrants to a country where their life or freedom could be at risk.
Ahead of an official visit to Cyprus, Netanyahu said the ministerial team was seeking to expel 1,000 Eritrean government supporters involved in Saturday’s violence.
“They have no right to refugee status. They support this regime,” Netanyahu said. “If they support the regime so much, they would do well to return to their country of origin. »
About 25,000 African migrants live in Israel, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea, who say they fled conflict or repression. Israel recognizes very few asylum seekers, considering them mostly economic migrants, and says it has no legal obligation to keep them.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the scene of the unrest on Sunday, expressing support for the police and calling for those who broke the law to be taken into custody until their expulsion. “They don’t need to be here. It’s not their place,” he said.
Some people heckled Ben-Gvir as he walked with a police escort, telling him to “go home”.
Al Jazeera’s Paul Brennan, reporting from West Jerusalem, said politicians on both sides of parliament have had their say on the issue.
“The far-right coalition in Netanyahu’s government demands that the instigators and ringleaders be deported,” he said, adding that the coalition accuses the High Court of blocking attempts to deport people in the pass.
“Opposition Knesset members say successive governments have failed to grasp this issue and manage the situation,” Brennan said.
“There’s politics involved in this,” Brennan noted, adding that Netanyahu “clearly wants to look like he’s doing something.”
Earlier on Saturday, Eritreans – supporters and opponents of the Eritrean government – clashed with timber, pieces of metal and stones, smashing shop windows and police cars.
Israeli police in riot gear fired tear gas, stun grenades and live ammunition as mounted police tried to control protesters.
Under international law, Israel cannot forcibly return migrants to a country where their life or freedom could be at risk.
Netanyahu said on Sunday he did not think the expulsion of Eritrean government supporters would be a problem.
Al Jazeera’s Brennan said opposition lawmakers questioned Netanyahu’s response to the violence, asking him where the refugees would be deported to.
Israel recognizes very few asylum seekers, considering them mostly economic migrants, and says it has no legal obligation to keep them.
The country has used a variety of tactics to force them out, including sending some to an isolated prison, withholding part of their salaries until they agree to leave the country, or offering cash payments to those who agree to settle in another country, somewhere in Africa. . Critics accuse the government of trying to coerce migrants to leave.
