Israel Plans to Move more than 16000 African Migrants to Western Countries

A Palestinian throws a rock towards Israeli forces on the Gaza border

A Palestinian throws a rock towards Israeli forces on the Gaza border

Speaking about the deal on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that CANADA, Italy and Germany would host at least 16,250 migrants. Under the agreement reached with Israel, the United Nations agency said it would work with other countries to facilitate the departure of asylum-seekers from Israel under various programs, including sponsorship, resettlement, family reunion and labor migration schemes.

Several ministers also said they opposed the accord with the UNHCR, on which they had not been informed before the announcement by Netanyahu's office.

At a news conference in Jerusalem, Netanyahu praised the new agreement reached with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Most of the 42,000 African migrants in Israel are from Eritrea - a one-party state whose leaders have been accused of crimes against humanity by a United Nations inquiry - and war-torn Sudan.

Spindler said that Eritrean and Sudanese people in Israel should be labeled as refugees, not migrants, as they left their homes to escape persecution and war.

Israel scrapped its plan to deport tens of thousands of migrants back to Africa, after mass demonstrations against the policy in the streets of Tel Aviv and criticism from overseas. The same number of Africans, who entered the country illegally, would be relocated to Western nations under the agreement, which would be carried out in three stages over five years.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said troops fired "towards the main instigators" during rioting in which petrol bombs and stones were thrown.

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Avi Gabbay, the chairman of the Israeli Labor party and one of Netanyahu's strongest opponents, called the cancellation of the deal an "absurd" decision that would "make things complicated for Israel".

The plan sparked protests in Tel Aviv, where thousands of African refugees have settled in a cluster of neighborhoods known as "Little Africa".

A previous plan already underway for a mass deportation of some 20,000 migrants to Rwanda had led to legal challenges in Israel, drew criticism overseas and triggered an emotional public debate among Israelis.

Mr Netanyahu suddenly announced he was suspending the deal on Monday night, just hours after touting it on national television, until he could meet with Israeli residents of south Tel Aviv, which has areas with large migrant populations.

Erdogan on Friday spoke with US President Donald Trump in a call and the Turkish leader said he told Trump: "Aren't you going to intervene here?".

"As asylum seekers we don't care where we are going to be as long as it is a safe place, and these countries are willing to protect us and we can live with human dignity", he said.

Earlier Monday, he said discussions were ongoing with countries that could resettle asylum seekers. On Tuesday, he said the deal was being cancelled after holding discussions on it.

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