Olmert and Mubarak in Sharm
Photo: Moshe Milner, GPO
Olmert, Mubarak agree to send infiltrators back to Egypt
Egyptian President Mubarak complies with Olmert's request to have Egypt absorb some 1,000 people who infiltrated Israel through Sinai border n recent months. Darfur refugees to stay in Israel
Egypt will absorb hundreds of African and Eastern European citizens who infiltrated Israel over the past six months. The government will hold a discussion regarding the refugees from Darfur, who represent a small part of the infiltrators, and it appears that they will be allowed to stay in Israel.
Ynet has learned that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has complied with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's request during the Sharm el-Sheik summit, and agreed to accept the several hundreds refugees in Egypt.
Teams from the two countries will study the issue in the coming weeks, and formulate the details of transferring the refugees.
A few weeks ago, Olmert convened all the relevant bodies to the problem in his Jerusalem office to discuss the situation. Representatives of the IDF, the police, the Border Guard, the Justice Ministry, the Foreign Ministry and the defense Ministry predicated in the meeting.
The police presented the participants with worrying statistics indicating that since the beginning of 2007, some 1,000 people infiltrated Israel from Sinai. The infiltrators come from African countries such as Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Ivory Coast, and from Georgia and other Eastern European states. They come to Israel in search of a better life and economic prosperity.
Contrary to common belief, just a minority of the infiltrators – 20 percent – are from Darfur. Israel is now seeking humanitarian solutions for some 200 of them.
