Netanyahu cancels UN-Israel agreement on African migrant deportation
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Following the suspension of a mutual understanding reached with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the deportation of African immigrants, Netanyahu on Tuesday announce he is officially reneging on the agreement, appeasing supporters of the mass expulsion plan.
"In the past 24 hours, I have held many consultations with Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, with professionals and representatives of residents of southern Tel Aviv," he said in his announcement. "I listened attentively to criticism of the agreement. As a result, and after evaluating a new balance of advantages and disadvantages, I decided to cancel the agreement.
"Despite the legal hurdles and the growing international difficulties, we will continue to act with determination to exhaust all possibilities at our disposal to remove the infiltrators (from our country)."
On Monday evening, Israel reached an agreement with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to resolve the African migrants crisis, nixing the government's controversial mass deportation plan.
As part of the agreement, for every migrant deported, Israel agreed to give one other migrant a temporary residency permit.
People advocating the deportation program were enraged by the agreement, which they claimed would facilitate illegal immigration and turn Israel into a haven for work immigrants.
