Thousands of undocumented African asylum seekers have taken to the streets of Tel Aviv in protest against Israel’s policy toward refugees.
The demonstration came on Monday with migrants, mostly from Eritrea and Sudan, calling on Israel to grant them refugee status.
They also called for the release of all imprisoned refugees.
The protest was also a response to Israel’s implementation of an anti-infiltration law, which allows Tel Aviv to jail illegal asylum seekers without charge or deport them to their countries where their lives are often in danger.
The African asylum seekers also held a similar demonstration on February 1.
In December 2013, Tel Aviv began operating a new detention facility for the African refugees in Negev.
More than 50,000 migrants live and work in Israel without legal documents.
Human Right Watch has said that Tel Aviv used the “threat of prolonged detention” to force the African migrants give up their asylum claims.
“Israel should end its unlawful detention policy and release all asylum seekers.”
The Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said Israel’s new legislation is a violation of the spirit of the UN 1951 Refugee Convention.
SAB/HSN
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