Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of breaking the law by forcing thousands of Sudanese and Eritreans migrants to leave the country. It claims that some were detained or tortured after they had been deported.
"The New York-based group said in its report that it had documented seven cases in which citizens of Sudan were detained and interrogated in the capital, Khartoum, on their return," says the New York Times.
"While four of the seven were released after short periods, the report said, one was tortured, a second was put in solitary confinement and a third was charged with treason for visiting Israel."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In response, the Israeli government has said that its policies of migrants and asylum-seekers complied with international laws.
When did the African refugees and asylum seekers arrive in Israel?
Many Sudanese and Eritreans began arriving in Israel via the Egyptian Sinai border in large number in 2006. "By December 2012, about 37,000 Eritreans and 14,000 Sudanese had entered the country", says the BBC.
How many of them remain in Israel?
That remains unclear, but only one Eritrean and two Sudanese applicants were recognised by Israel as refugees. According to the Human Right Watch report, 6,400 Sudanese and 367 Eritreans has officially left Israel by June 2014.
Why are so many African migrants trying to get to Israel?
African migrants in Israel are mostly from war-torn regions such as Eritrea and Darfur. They arrived in Israel after taking a long journey across the Egyptian Sinai, where reports suggest that they face the risk of kidnap and torture.
What is Israel's official policy towards refugees?
Under its Prevention of Infiltration Law, Israel detains asylum seekers without charge and holds them in a camp called Holot in the Negev desert for an unspecified period of time. During that time they do not have access to non-emergency healthcare, work permits or other social services, but they are offered airfare and other stipends if they decide to leave.
What are the allegations in this case?
According to Human Rights Watch, Israel:
- violates international laws relating to the 'non-refoulement' of refugees – ie the convention that they should not be returned to the hands of their persecutors – by "unlawfully coercing" them to go home or to other countries in which they face dangers, such as Uganda, Ethiopia or Rwanda
- does not grant asylum seekers fair and legal asylum procedures.
- pressurises asylum seekers to leave by limiting their access to jobs and healthcare.
What does Israel say in response?
"Israel says its policies on illegal immigrants and refugees comply with international law," the BBC reports. Last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described asylum-seekers as "illegal infiltrators flooding the country", The Guardian reports, and in July he said that repatriating African asylum seekers is "essential to the welfare of Israel's citizens and for its future as a Jewish and democratic nation", according to Al Jazeera.
-
September 14 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-warTalking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Crossword: September 14, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Has Israel’s Qatar strike scuppered a ceasefire?Today’s Big Question Netanyahu ‘gambles’ on ‘overwhelming strength’ rather than diplomacy in attack on Hamas negotiation team in Doha
-
Israel targets Hamas leaders in Qatar airstrikeSpeed Read Hamas said five low-level leaders were killed in the attack
-
What are the Abraham Accords and why are they under threat?The Explainer The 2020 agreements would be 'undermined' if Israel annexes West Bank, UAE warns
-
What is Tony Blair's plan for Gaza?Today's Big Question Former PM has reportedly been putting together a post-war strategy 'for the past several months'
-
UN votes to end Lebanon peacekeeping missionSpeed Read The Trump administration considers the UN's Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to be a 'waste of money'
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
The IDF's manpower problemThe Explainer Israeli military's shortage of up to 12,000 troops results in call-up for tens of thousands of reservists
