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| By Israel Insider staff August 1, 2007 |
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Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit on Tuesday urged the government to build a fence along Israel's border with Egypt, outraged at how porous the border currently is. Sheetrit said measures should be taken to prevent African refugees, migrant workers, weapons and drugs from be smuggled into Israel.
"It will most likely cost about NIS 1.5 million to build such a fence," Sheetrit told The Jerusalem Post. "But that is a very small price for Israel to pay compared to what it will cost us if we do not build such a fence."
"A year ago, we had 300 people coming here from Sudan through Egypt," Sheetrit continued. "Today we have 300 a week and, in my opinion, if we don't stop it now, we will reach 3,000 a week.
Out of the 3000 Africans that have entered Israel illegally, only 300 of them are refugees from Darfur. Many have come from Eritrea, Ghana and Kenya, according to the Jerusalem Post, and more than 1,000 refugees have arrived here from other areas of Sudan.
"Israel can't take in hundreds of thousands of people. As a Jewish state, Israel should take in a quota of people from Darfur, care for them and help them find jobs - like we have done for other groups of refugees in the past," the minister added.
Sheetrit faulted past administrations for not fortifying the border, citing their "laziness, bad management and indecisiveness."
The government recently allocated an area in Ketziot Prison in the Negev to shelter the refugees until they find a more permanent solution.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is considering deporting the illegal immigrants to Egypt. Many human rights activists have protested the move, fearing Egypt will return them to their Sudan, where they would be killed.
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