Massive migrant demonstration in front of Knesset building

This is one of the largest protests in front of the Knesset in recent years, if not the largest, says police spokesman Miki Rosenthal, who was at the scene.

MK Eli Yishai (Shas) said on Wednesday that the demonstration of African migrants set to take place in front of the Knesset in Jerusalem was a good opportunity for the government to arrest all of them and send them to prison.

"I call on the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Interior and the Defense Minister to take advantage of the gathering in the Rose Garden in Jerusalem, as well as any gathering, to put them [the migrants] all on buses and send them to the detention facilities," Yishai posted on his Facebook page.

"Israel must be unwavering in its motivation with regard to the danger of turning into a state overrun by infiltrators, and there is no other solution except to put every single one of them in prison, take away their work permits and put them back on airplanes to their home countries or a third country," Yishai wrote.

Yishai said that any other solution to the migrant issue would be for Israel to send the message that Israel is dispensing of its Jewish identity and is open to new identities.

Leaders of the protest were scheduled to meet with MPs at in the Galil Auditorium in the Knesset at 1pm Wednesday afternoon. The meeting was initiated by MPs from various political parties.

"The asylum-seekers called upon the prime minister yesterday to meet with them and hear them out. A government that is at one with its policies would have answered the request," said Meretz MP Michal Rozin, head of the Foreign Workers C\’tee, in a statement on Wednesday.

"Since that is not the situation…we\’ve called upon the members of parliament to hear their grievances. They are human beings and it\’s about time that the Israeli gov\’t treats them as such," she added.