.bmp)
.bmp)
Israel is considering the construction of a border fence in cooperation with Egypt to prevent the passage of terrorists, smugglers and asylum-seekers between the two countries, Prime Minister's Office Director General Ra'anan Dinur told the Knesset Committee on Foreign Workers yesterday. A government official said Vice Premier Haim Ramon pitched the idea of the fence to the head of Egyptian Intelligence Omar Suleiman in Cairo a few weeks ago. Following Ramon's visit, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was considering opening official negotiations with Egypt on the fence. Egypt has yet to respond to the proposal.Co nstruction of the fence unilaterally by Israel would cost between NIS 2.5 to 3 billion. Officials in Jerusalem said it was unlikely Egypt would agree to the fence's construction, and thus a unilateral move would damage the relations between the two countries. At a special meeting called during the Knesset recess, Dinur also told the committee Israel would take in some 500 refugees from Darfur who had infiltrated from Egypt over the past two years, and that Olmert would present a proposal to that effect to the cabinet in mid-September. Committee Chairman Ran Cohen (Meretz) called the meeting in protest over the deportation of 48 African citizens to Egypt last week. "It is inconceivable that a persecuted person is not allowed to submit a request for asylum. This contravenes morality and international law," Cohen told Dinur. Dinur responded that this was not deportation, but rather enforcing the Entry to Israel Law and that not all those crossing the border were persecuted. Dinur also told the committee that NIS 18 million would be allocated to the construction of a tent camp at Ketziot in the south for African refugees, and NIS 44 million to operate it. Cohen welcomed the decision to take in the 500 refugees, but added that the state could take in 1,000. Dinur left open the possibility that the number would be greater than 500. There are now a few hundred refugees in Israel who had escaped genocide in Darfur, some of whom are families with children.The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees representative Miki Bavli told the committee the refugees Israel deported last week had been arrested by the Egyptians and that U.N. representatives in Cairo are in contact with them. Some six human rights groups in Israel have petitioned the High Court of Justice against the deportation of the 48 refugees and the intent to deport more. The petitioners demand the refugees be given the right to apply for asylum and that every refugee be given a hearing before a deportation order is issued.As in the days of Noah...
