CAIRO: The expulsion of all but 500 Darfuri refugees from Israel back to Egypt has split opinion in the country about whether returning them was the right decision in light of Jewish history and the Holocaust.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that “Israel has an acute responsibility to carefully monitor its borders . particularly in light of the security situation and concern regarding criminal and terrorist elements. It should be noted, that there is an Al-Qaeda presence in Sudan, and Israel must remain vigilant lest terrorists attempt to infiltrate in the guise of refugees.
Israel announced last week that it would expel all but 500 refugees from Darfur back into Egypt. Human rights groups have argued that expelling the refugees without assessing their claims for asylum was a denigration of international accords.
But the foreign ministry statement said that the acceptance of the 500 refugees was “in comparative terms to other states, a significant step considering Israel’s size, population and resources.
It added that “when infiltrators are returned to Egypt, it is in full coordination with the UNHCR and the Egyptian authorities.
Opinions remain mixed within Israel over the handling of the refugee issue. A column in the Jerusalem Post penned by Evelyn Gordon maintained that returning the refugees was “unconscionable by any standard.
The Washington Post quoted Efraim Zuroff, director of the Israel office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center as saying, “We don t have to solve every problem in the world. This is creating all sorts of pressure on Israel which is really not justified.
“I m 1,000 percent in favor of doing everything possible to stop the genocide, Zuroff added, but “Israel can t open the gates and turn this into a free-entry zone.
An Egyptian diplomatic official had previously told the Egyptian State Information Service that Egypt had informed Israel it was “not committed to receiving any refugees that had already infiltrated the border into Israel through a contravention of current laws.
However, 48 Sudanese refugees were returned by Israel to Egypt.
A senior official in Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office told AFP that “these Sudanese were handed over to the Egyptian authorities in accordance with an accelerated deportation procedure.
Israeli government spokesman David Baker said “Those who have entered Israel illegally from Egypt will be returned to Egypt. These people are illegal economic migrants and will be returned, the International Herald Tribune reported last week.
Baker also said after the announcement to expel the refugees that “they will be returned no matter where they come from. What s happening is we are being flooded, literally by the thousands, and this is a small country.
Knesset member Avishai Braverman said in parliament “All the time we are waving the Shoah [Holocaust]. We talk and talk that we ve been through so much. Once in a while we have to show an example, too. This is an opportunity to behave a bit morally and not preach to all the world all the time, the Baltimore Sun reported.
Protests are being organized by a group called the Committee for Darfur Refugees in the hopes of pressuring the government to increase the quota of refugees allowed to stay.
Executive Director of Amera (Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance) Essam Shiha took Israel and its UNHCR office to task on their handling of the affair.
“Israel should have respected international conventions and the UNHCR in Israel should have intervened more forcefully, he told Daily News Egypt.
“Israel is obligated to adhere to article 33 of the 1951 UN Convention [about the status of refugees], he added, “but Israel flaunts all conventions, it is above international law.
The article Shiha referred to states that “No Contracting State shall expel or return ( refouler ) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.
However, some commentators believe that as they were returned to Egypt, not the country where they are in danger for their lives, then the article doesn’t apply in this case.
The Israeli foreign ministry statement said “it must be noted that Israel does not share a border with Sudan, a country which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, and maintains a formal state of war with it. Those seeking to enter Israel have already crossed into Egypt, and therefore, the proximate cause for their fleeing Darfur no longer exists, and Egypt – which is their first country of refuge, and a signatory to the Convention relating to the status of refugees, 1951 – is responsible for their safety.
Shiha disagreed, saying that a state cannot return a refugee regardless of whether it’s a second country or the country of origin
“The real reason the refugees flee to Israel, Shiha said, “is because Egypt is considered a stepping stone to final resettlement. Here, they have little chance because Egyptian [resources] are already saturated.
Shiha added that the rush to escape to Israel came about because of rumours spread among the refugees that those who made it to Israel were given houses and money, especially if they were Southern.
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.
An Egyptian official had said that Egyptian authorities have the right to use force if refugees attempting to infiltrate the border did not heed warnings to stop and insisted on going on.
Shiha said that “it seems they [Egypt] is sending a message to refugees, to dissuade them from attempting to cross the border, “and those who attempt to flee are quite adamant about reaching the border at any cost.
According to UNHCR statistics, 382 refugees have entered Israel since June, a dramatic increase from 59 in 2005.
According to UN statistics 1,200 African refuges have entered Israel this year.
More than 220 Africans – mainly Sudanese refugees from Darfur – have been arrested attempting to cross the border into Israel last month.
