Sudanese refugees in Beersheba
Photo: Tsfrir Aviov
Government to set up tent city for Darfur refugees
Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter says tents will be erected near jail in south to provide temporary shelter for Sudanese refugees
The government will set up a tent city in the Negev to house dozens of Sudanese refugees who infiltrate Israel from Egypt almost daily, Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter said Monday.
Dichter acknowledged that the solution was only temporary, adding that many refugees will be sent back to Egypt.
"This is a national task that requires an overall solution," Dichter told reporters after talks with officials at the Israel Prisons Authority.
The site will be erected near the Ketziot jail which lies close to the border with Egypt.
The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that a list of refugees Israel wanted to expel to Egypt was being drafted.
The statement said that no budget had been allocated to provide food and shelter to the refugees but added the government was committed to providing permanent shelter for Sudanese asylum seekers from the troubled Darfur region.
Meanwhile, 66 refugees remain stranded outside a hotel in Beersheba after the municipality announced it was no longer funding their stay, blaming the government for failing to provide sufficient funds.
Over 58 refugees who arrived in Israel overnight have been offered shelter in the Avivim student village which is run by the Jewish Agency.
Hundreds of refugees were transported to Jerusalem earlier Monday to protest the government's inaction to find a solution to their plight.
Shmulik Haddad and Raanan Ben-Zur contributed to this report
