http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29122352
The gist: Thousands of African immigrants (illegal or not) to Israel don't get the proper Asylum checks. They are sent back at great personal risk or detained unlawfully.
"Israel is unlawfully coercing almost 7,000 Eritrean and Sudanese nationals into leaving the country at great personal risk, Human Rights Watch says."
The methods to coerce the African immigrants to leave without access to asylum system (according to the article)
" include "indefinite detention, obstacles to accessing Israel's asylum system, the rejection of 99.9% of Eritrean and Sudanese asylum claims,
ambiguous policies on being allowed to work, and severely restricted access to healthcare"
That's a new low for Israel, a land of people that had to endure such crap in living memory. I wonder how the Jews that were kicked out of so many places as kids feel about that.
EDIT:
HRW report:
http://www.hrw.org/node/128682/section/6
A DIFFERENT PICTURE:
http://www.jpost.com/National-News/F...he-same-340804
In this article, a different picture is painted on the conditions.
"The No. 44 bus from Beersheba to Holot appeared every 10 minutes or so, including one time at midday when it stopped outside the front gate to drop off a single African man before leaving."
"Like others, he said that already on his first day in Holot Israeli officials at the facility had spoken to him about how he could get a one-time stipend of $3,500 if he agreed to return to his country."
"three journalists were able to walk along the perimeter, talk to detainees through the fence and take pictures for a solid half hour without interference on Thursday.
The detainees have cellphones, wear their own clothes and laze about in the common areas outside the trailer homes, talking and playing Eritrean music next to the basketball courts."
I would like to note here, that the article doesn't address the problem of nearly all applications being denied and people not allowed to apply for asylum. As the article says "if 3500$ and leaving is the only alternative to infinite detainment, then it's not voluntary" Still, for the majority of the immigrants that don't really have a reason to seek asylum, it's a sweet deal. Stay there 2-3 years till the authorities at home stop looking for you and then return home with the equivalent of 2-years-worth of salaries.