Ethiopians removed from Saudi Arabia continue filing back into the country, Israel is also planning to deport 500 Ethiopians, possibly as early as January 2014.Some 60,000 migrants from different African countries – particularly Eritrea and Sudan, which makes up the lion’s share at some 90 pc of the total – have entered Israel in recent years through the Sinai Peninsula. This has led to fears that the Jewish character of the country of 7.8 million is being threatened, as was stated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a speech in May 2012.In order to assuage those concerns, the country is embarking on a drive to remove the undocumented migrants, which it calls ‘infiltrators’, with incentives designed to encourage voluntary departures. These include 3,500 dollars in compensation for each migrant, in addition to free plane tickets and health care.For Ethiopians, deportation is to happen within a short period of time, Fortune has discovered from the Ethiopian Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel.”The deportation will happen in the near future. That is a given,” said Hilawei Yosef, Ethiopian ambassador to Israel, speaking on the phone to Ambassador Dina Mufti, spokesperson to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who called him from the Ministry here in Addis Abeba to get answers to Fortune’s questions. “But, at least they are well-protected and safe, unlike those from Saudi Arabia,” he said.
The operation will probably begin as of January next year, according to the Embassy.
Israel’s government had informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) of its decision months ago, said another official at the Ministry who requested anonymity. A delegation from the Middle East desk at the MoFA, led by Wubeshet Demesie, director general of the desk, had planned to go to Tel Aviv to sort out the issue, but the Saudi Arabia case demanded more immediate attention, according to source.
After the case of Saudi Arabia is settled, a four-person delegation, including Wubeshet, will go to Tel Aviv to negotiate with the Israeli government about the compensation, the official said. This will include demands to raise the compensation to 5,000 dollars.
The Ministry has also written a letter to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), according to information from the MoFA.
The timeframe for the trip to Tel Aviv will be decided after the Saudi Arabia issue has first been addressed. More than 100,000 Ethiopians have, thus far, returned from Saudi Arabia, as of Friday, December 6, 2013.
Unlike those who will be leaving Israel shortly, a large portion of those from the oil-rich kingdom returned to the country without their personal belongings; some of them even barefoot.
“We wish these measures weren’t to be taken, but at least they will not throw them out the way Saudi Arabia did,” said Dina, who was not aware of the issue until approached by Fortune.
The Israeli embassy in Addis Abeba, on the other hand, requested full cooperation from the Ethiopian government on ways of returning the migrants, since they entered into the country using illegal means.
“We are talking about people who crossed the border without legal permission to do so,” Leo Vinovezky, deputy head of mission at the Embassy, told Fortune. “They will be returned to their countries in full coordination with their governments.”
Currently, there are more than 130,000 people of Ethiopian origin in Israel, the majority of whom have Israeli citizenship given that they are Beta Israel.
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