The controversial plan by the Israeli government to deport thousands of African migrants has been halted after a high-court petition filed by human rights groups challenged the plan’s validity.
The government’s announcement Tuesday that it was abandoning the effort to send the migrants to Rwanda and Uganda.
“At this stage, the possibility of deportation to a third country is not on the agenda,” wrote the government’s legal representative in response to the petition. “Therefore, as of April 17, 2018, the state has ceased to hold hearings as part of the deportation policy, and no more deportation decisions will be made at this time.”
It is estimated that Israel would have deported about 36,000 African migrants if the controversial plan had not been halted. A large chunk of the African migrants in Israel are from Eritrea and Sudan who entered the country illegally through Egypt.
Under the controversial plan, migrants who left willingly would be offered $3,500 each and a plane ticket to one of the countries and that those who refused to leave voluntarily would be incarcerated and then deported.
