Netenyahu tells African migrants to leave Israel or face jail

Amid protests from rights groups, Population and Immigration Authority calls on migrants from Sudan and Eritrea to 'leave to their country or a third country', offering $3,500 to those who depart by April, and prison to those who refuse. The Population and Immigration Authority called this week on migrants from Sudan and Eritrea to leave "to their country or to a third country," meaning Rwanda or Uganda.

Those who leave by the end of March will be given $3,500, along with airfare and other incentives. The ultimatum is part of a large-scale campaign to remove 42,000 illegal African migrants from Israel. The Hotline for Migrant Workers, an advocacy group, condemned the move Tuesday, saying expulsions "put the refugees' lives in danger."

Thousands of Africans entered Israel before it erected a fence along its border with Egypt. Many say they fled conflict and persecution and seek refugee status. Israel calls them "infiltrators" and says they are mostly economic migrants whose numbers threaten its Jewish character.

Although the government unanimously approved a bill last month to close the Holot detention facility which houses African illegal immigrants and asylum seekers, the plan still depends on successfully expelling the inhabitants to Rwanda, a move which has raised concerns among human rights groups. Israel and Rwanda recently signed an agreement whereby asylum seekers can be sent there even without their consent. Asylum seekers have been sent to Rwanda for the past three years as part of a plan encouraging voluntary emigration.Ynetnews.com