EL-ARISH: Egyptian border police on Monday shot and wounded a Sudanese and a man from Ivory Coast in two separate incidents as they tried to illegally cross into Israel, a security official and medics said.
The first incident took place less than 10 km to the south of Rafah border crossing, when the guards shot and wounded 18-year-old Ivorian Ali Jomandi, who was trying to jump over barbed wire at the border with Israel, a Northern Sinai security official said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said the second incident occurred in the Wadi Al-Azareq district, about 15 km to the south of Rafah, as a group of Sudanese tried to make it to the Jewish state.
The border police called on them to stop but after they failed to comply, the guards opened fire, wounding one, the official said. He identified the injured as Adam Haroun Taher, 28, and said the other two were also captured by the police.
Physician Imad Kharboush of the hospital emergency unit in the nearby town of El-Arish, said each of the two wounded Africans was brought in with serious bullet wounds to the right thigh but that they were in stable condition.
The last incident was only last week, when Egyptian guards shot and killed a Sudanese man among a group being trafficked across the boundary. The groups usually pay hundreds of dollars to human traffickers to help them cross Egypt s border into Israel.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday directed Israeli authorities to deport thousands of African asylum seekers who have sneaked into Israel though the Egyptian border and whose lives would not be endangered if sent home, his office said.
The statement said the Africans should be expelled from Israel by the end of the week.
Israel estimates that 2,800 people have entered the country illegally through its border with Egypt in recent years searching for jobs. Most have been from Africa.
Asylum seekers have been infiltrating in larger numbers over the past year.
Michael Bavly, a representative in Israel of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said that more than 7,000 – mostly from Africa – have entered the country illegally through its border with Egypt, including more than 2,000 this year alone, said
This year, Israel granted temporary residency status to 600 refugees from Darfur. It also recognized about 2,000 infiltrators from Eritrea whose lives would be endangered if sent home. Israel plans to deport the other 4,500, officials said, many of whom came from countries like Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria.
Olmert convened a meeting Sunday with Cabinet ministers to discuss the infiltration and ways of preventing it. He ordered security officials to tighten supervision of the Egyptian border and directed officials to expedite the processing of those seeking asylum, to decide which were just seeking work and could be deported. He instructed his top aide to present a daily progress report on the matter.
Bavly said Israel, as the only land bridge between Africa and Europe, was an attractive destination for those seeking escape. He said most were not refugees, but people searching for jobs and a better life.
Hedva Radovanitz, associate director of the New Israel Fund, a foundation supporting the African refugees in Israel, said she doubted the government would begin deporting anyone in such a short period.
Each case needs to be evaluated individually, she said. Israel cannot deport anyone before going through a process. – AP
