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Itongadol.- The border fence is not enough to stem the influx of undocumented immigrants from Africa to Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, joining the ever-expanding chorus of legislators critical of a High Court of Justice ruling in September that struck down an amendment to the infiltration law. The amendment had allowed the state to detain undocumented migrants in administrative custody for up to three years pending a review of case-specific refugee status.
Speaking at a discussion he initiated over the matter on Thursday, the prime minister said the legislation had proved to be a powerful deterrent against migrants, mostly from countries in Africa, who had illegally crossed the border from Egypt\’s Sinai Peninsula into Israel.
"It\’s impossible to stop infiltration through the [border] fence alone," Netanyahu said. "We need to continue taking the measures that have so far definitively stopped infiltration to Israel — a physical barrier alongside effective legal tools. Illegal infiltrators have no privileges at the expense of Israeli citizens."
Last month, a panel of nine justices unanimously ruled to overturn the Knesset amendment to the country\’s Prevention of Infiltration law. The change had been approved by the Knesset in 2012 and had allowed the government to detain migrants lacking illegal documentation for up to three years in detention centers pending a review of each person\’s refugee status. The Supreme Court said the law was unconstitutional and impinged on an individual\’s right to liberty.
According to the court decision, the state has 90 days to review the asylum requests of detained migrants. The High Court asked the state to review the case of each incarcerated migrant within three months.
In his speech to the Knesset on Monday, the prime minister vowed to pass a new anti-infiltration law. On Thursday, he met Interior Minister Gideon Sa\’ar (Likud), and instructed him to go ahead and draft a new law combating the phenomenon of illegal migration into Israel, Channel 2 news reported. According to the report, the prime minister and interior minister agreed to new legislation that would authorize the detention of illegal immigrants for up to 18 months.
The Interior Ministry estimates that there are more than 55,000 undocumented migrants in Israel, mostly from east African countries such as Eritrea and Sudan, though some also come from Ghana, Nigeria and other countries.