African asylum seekers still camping out in Tel Aviv

Thousands of undocumented African asylum seekers are still camping out in Tel Aviv to protest Israel’s policy toward refugees.

The asylum seekers, who have turned a park in south Tel Aviv into a protest site since last week, continued their demonstration on Wednesday.

Thousands of the African migrants, mostly from Eritrea and Sudan, have been spending cold nights in the park. They have promised to continue their protest until their demand is met.

They have been protesting for months for refugee status and have called for the release of all imprisoned refugees.

They have also been protesting Israel’s implementation of the so-called anti-infiltration law on asylum seekers.

In December 2013, Tel Aviv began operating a new detention facility for the African refugees in Negev.

Human Right Watch has said that Tel Aviv used the “threat of prolonged detention” to force the African migrants give up their asylum claims.

The Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said
Israel’s new legislation is a violation of the spirit of the UN 1951 Refugee Convention.