ISRAEL: Govt scraps plan to send African migrants to West

Israel’s prime minister has cancelled a deal with the UN to relocate African migrants living in the country, a day after reaching the agreement. Benjamin Netanyahu said he had taken the decision after consulting residents of south Tel Aviv, where many of the migrants live. He said he would now consider “all options… to remove […]

Israel’s prime minister has cancelled a deal with the UN to relocate African migrants living in the country, a day after reaching the agreement.

Benjamin Netanyahu said he had taken the decision after consulting residents of south Tel Aviv, where many of the migrants live.

He said he would now consider “all options… to remove the infiltrators”.

The fate of more than 30,000 migrants, who entered the country illegally, has long been a hugely contentious issue.

The UN’s refugee agency, the UNHCR, said Mr Netanyahu’s decision was a “disappointment” and urged the Israeli government to “consider the matter further”.

Under the five-year plan, some 16,250 African migrants who entered the country illegally, many of them seeking asylum, would be resettled in Western nations, which Mr Netanyahu had said included Germany, Italy and Canada.