Itongadol/AJN.- More than half of migrants transferred to Holot center abandon facility in first week, march to Jerusalem to protest Infiltration Prevention Bill joined activists, MKs. Migrant: \’We are marching for freedom\’
More than 150 African migrants have abandoned an "open" Israeli detention center to try to march on Jerusalem in protest of a law allowing authorities to keep them in custody indefinitely, activists said on Monday.
The migrants were joined by activists and members of Knesset. They were accompanied for part of the march by police officers and immigration inspectors. The marchers plan to spend the night at Kibbutz Nahshon.
More than 50,000 Sudanese and Eritrean migrants have crossed the border into Israel on foot from Egypt since 2006. The government has tried to encourage most of them to leave.
Many of the migrants say they are fleeing persecution, forced military conscription or dictatorship in African countries.
The center in southern Israel was opened last week after parliamentary approval of a law allowing the open-ended detention of migrants in the facility pending resolution of their asylum requests, implementation of deportation orders or voluntary repatriation.