CAIRO: Egypt has informed Israel it was not under any obligation to receive refugees who have infiltrated the borders of the two countries, according to a report released by the State Information Service (SIS).
A senior diplomatic source told the SIS that Egypt was “not committed to receiving any refugees that have already infiltrated the border into Israel through a contravention of current laws.
Additionally, the source said that this infiltration is a violation of both Egyptian and international laws, and poses a threat to Egyptian security.
According to UNHCR statistics, 382 refugees have entered Israel since June, a dramatic increase from 59 in 2005.
“There are laws that prohibit the fleeing of refugees from a host country into other countries. This is illegal, lawyer and program director of the National Council for Human Rights Amira Abdel-Hakim told Daily News Egypt.
“We offer them protection, but we [Egypt] suffer from these attempts to illegally enter other countries, she added.
Last month, 28-year-old Hagga Abbas Harun from Darfur was shot and killed by Egyptian border police as she and 27 others attempted to cross into Israel. Four others were injured in the attack.
The source told SIS that Egyptian authorities have the right to use force if refugees attempting to infiltrate the border do not heed warnings to stop and insisted on going on.
Maher Nasser of the UN Information Center told Daily News Egypt that according to the 1951 Convention on Refugees “it is illegal for a country to return refugees to the country they are fleeing from, and in which their lives are endangered.
Instances of these border crossings are different as the country refugees are fleeing is a host country, rather than a country where their lives are endangered.
