Israel Starts Deporting African Migrants
About 60,000 Africans have crossed into Israel across its porous border with Egypt in recent years. Israel says the vast majority are job seekers, disputing arguments by humanitarian agencies that they should be considered for asylum. Israel has started the deportation of these migrants by organising weekly repatriation flights intended as a stepping stone to dealing with much greater influxes of migrants from Sudan and Eritrea. Personally I don’t understand how a nation built on and by migrants can treat a new wave of migrants hoping for a beter future this way.
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_001.jpg) 1African migrants sleep overnight in a park in Tel Aviv. RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_002.jpg) 2An African migrant smokes a cigarette after sleeping overnight in a park in Tel Aviv. RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_003.jpg) 3African migrants are seen after sleeping overnight in a park in Tel Aviv. RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_004.jpg) 4Residents of south Tel Aviv hold placards as they protest against African migrants living in their neighbourhood. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_005.jpg) 5Residents of south Tel Aviv hold placards as they protest against African migrants living in their neighbourhood. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_006.jpg) 6Children cross the street as residents of south Tel Aviv carry Israeli flags during a protest against African migrants living in their neighbourhoods. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_007.jpg) 7A man clears away debris after an apartment housing Eritrean migrants was set on fire in Jerusalem. DARREN WHITESIDE/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_008.jpg) 8A volunteer hands out food to African migrants in Tel Aviv. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_009.jpg) 9Sudanese protesters hold signs during a demonstration in Tel Aviv against the deportation of migrants from South Sudan. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_010.jpg) 10A Sudanese man shout slogans during a demonstration in Tel Aviv against the deportation of migrants from South Sudan. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_011.jpg) 11Sudanese protesters hold signs during a demonstration in Tel Aviv against the deportation of migrants from South Sudan. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_012.jpg) 12African refugees and migrant workers stand in charity food line in south Tel Aviv. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_013.jpg) 13South Sudanese refugee Samuel Akue sits next to suitcases he purchased in a market in south Tel Aviv in preparation for his deportation from Israel. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_014.jpg) 14Israeli Immigration police check the documents of African migrants and refugees in south Tel Aviv. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_015.jpg) 15South Sudanese refugee Samuel Akue carries suitcases he purchased in a market south Tel Aviv in preparation for his deportation from Israel. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_016.jpg) 16African refugees and migrant workers stand in charity food line in south Tel Aviv. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_017.jpg) 17Israeli immigration officers escort an African migrant in south Tel Aviv. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_018.jpg) 18A woman embraces a South Sudanese girl as she cries before boarding a bus to Ben Gurion airport from Tel Aviv. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_019.jpg) 19South Sudanese men carry luggage as they walk towards Tel Aviv's central bus station. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_020.jpg) 20South Sudanese man waves a flag out of a window of a bus travelling to Ben Gurion airport from Tel Aviv. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_021.jpg) 21A South Sudanese boy presses his hand against the window of a bus before its departure to Ben Gurion airport from Tel Aviv. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_022.jpg) 22A South Sudanese man waves from inside a bus before its departure to Ben Gurion airport from Tel Aviv. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_023.jpg) 23A South Sudanese boy waves to his friend on board a bus before its departure to Ben Gurion airport from Tel Aviv. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_024.jpg) 24A South Sudanese girl looks out from a bus window before its departure to Ben Gurion airport from Tel Aviv. BAZ RATNER/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_025.jpg) 25South Sudanese nationals shake hands after arriving from Israel at the airport in Juba. ADRIANE OHANESIAN/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_026.jpg) 26South Sudanese nationals who arrived from Israel walk from their plane at the airport in Juba. ADRIANE OHANESIAN/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_027.jpg) 27South Sudanese disembark from a plane from Israel that arrived at the airport in Juba. ADRIANE OHANESIAN/REUTERS
![](http://totallycoolpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/18062012_israel_african_migrants/africanmigrants_028.jpg) 28A South Sudanese national prepares to board a mini-van after arriving from Israel at the airport in Juba. ADRIANE OHANESIAN/REUTERS |