Envoy sent to clarify feasibility of expelling immigrants to African country
In light of PM Netanyahu's scrap of the immigrant deal reached with the UN and the deal with Rwanda to absorb deported immigrants falling apart, special envoy is sent to last country Israel says will accept deportees to examine viability of such measure; country believed to be the one in negotiations with Israel denies any such agreement.
The state filed a response to the High Court of Justice on the issue of the African migrant crisis, and announced that an Israeli special envoy had left for one of the countries with which a deportation agreement had been signed, apparently Uganda, referred to as the "third country" in an official statement to the court.
Last month, the High Court issued a temporary injunction for the state, ordering it to halt the planned mass expulsion of African immigrants until it submits a response to a petition made to the court against it.
"In view of the recent allegations against the third country, and in view of the current focus of deporting solely to this country now, a number of factual updates have been required, including by the special envoy to the third country responsible for the matter," the statement said.
Claims have recently risen that the country with which Israel has struck a deportation agreement with intends to accept the money for each deportee, only to later expel them from the country. It was also claimed that the aforementioned country will refuse to absorb any immigrant forcibly expelled against his own will.
"Accordingly, this emissary left this morning for the third third country in question, and he is expected to provide answers and updates this evening, and at the latest on Thursday morning."
Meanwhile, the two African countries thought to be the ones taking in migrants deported from Israel are again denying any such agreement was made.
Ministers with Uganda and Rwanda spoke after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled an agreement with the United Nations to resettle thousands of African migrants to Western nations. Critics in Israel opposed the deal because it would allow many other migrants to remain.
Uganda’s foreign affairs minister, Henry Okello Oryem, says that if any migrants deported from Israel arrive in the East African nation "we will insist that the airlines return them to the country where they came from."
He added: "We do not have a contract, any understanding, formal or informal, with Israel for them to dump their refugees here."
Rwanda’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe, says no deal was ever signed with Israel, adding that "we have a general open policy on the refugees but our condition is that those migrants must be willing to come to Rwanda without any form of constraint."
Telem Yahav and Amir Alon contributed to this report.
