22,000 African Migrants Repatriated in Recent Years

Ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday were surprised to learn that Israel has repatriated some 22,000 illegal African migrants over the last few years.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu praised former Interior Minister Silvan Shalom for the work he did on the repatriation issue, saying he “moved it forward a great deal and did good and important work.” Shalom resigned recently due to a scandal involving personal misconduct.

The government also amended the “anti-infiltration law” in accordance with the High Court ruling of last year that migrants could only be held at the Holot detention facility for 12 months, and not 20 months as originally provided under the law.