Zio=nazi is planning to build a closed “compound” in the Negev Desert for asylum seekers currently in the country, which will be run by Zionist’s Prison Services. Ketziot Military Nazi Camp, which holds Palestinian political prisoners and next to which Zionist plans on building the closed “compound” for asylum seekers
This is according to a document prepared for the National Planning and Building Council and recently obtained by the Zionist news daily Haaretz.
“The very fact that it is charging the Prison Service, which specializes in operating prisons, with running the facility indicates that the government intends to operate the facility as a closed compound, once the legislative amendments are complete,” the document states.
The Zio=Nazi regime first announced plans in November 2010 to move asylum seekers currently to a detention center in the Negev Desert. However, at this time plans for doing so were unclear.
The document, prepared by planning experts Shlomit Dotan-Gissen and Tomer Gothelf, notes that in a closed compound, asylum seekers would not be permitted to leave without the authorization of the facility’s supervisors, although they would be allowed to move about within the different areas of the compound and between the living quarters and public areas, reported Haaretz.
Such a facility would be in direct violation of the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, of which Zio-Nazi is a signatory. Article 26 of the Convention, entitled Freedom of Movement, states: “Each Contracting State shall accord to refugees lawfully in its territory the right to choose their place of residence to move freely within its territory, subject to any regulations applicable to aliens generally in the same circumstances.”
The facility is apparently intended to house 7,000 asylum seekers and would be operated by a staff of 1,000-1,5000, providing asylum seekers with basic needs, such as housing, food, hygiene, health services, according to Haaretz.
Zio=Nazi’s considers only a small number of the 35,000 people, primarily Africans, who have entered the Zionist state over the past few years, as refugees. The rest are viewed as illegal economic migrants. Over the past year, immigration police in Tel Aviv have conducted mass arrests in areas largely populated by internationals, with little regard as to the legal status of these people It is unclear how the immigration police will determine who qualifies for detention in the closed asylum facility or how long they will be detained.
It is also unclear as to whether Article 32 of the Convention, on the subject of expulsion, will be acknowledged. The article states, “The expulsion of such a refugee shall be only in pursuance of a decision reached in accordance with due process of law. Except where compelling reasons of national security otherwise require, the refugee shall be allowed to submit evidence to clear himself, and to appeal to and be represented for the purpose before competent authority or a person or persons specially designated by the competent authority.”
Authors Gissen and Gothelf recommend that the facility be built next to the Ketziot Military Prison, which is a camp style prison where Palestinian prisoners are kept in tents, “because of its isolation from populated areas and because the operational benefits that could be reaped from setting it up next to an already operating prison,” reported Haaretz.
“Detention is a terrible trauma and may be even more serious for people who were exposed to this trauma in the past,” noted Dr. Ido Lurie, medical director of the Open Clinic operated by Physicians for Human Rights – Israel. “Most of those arriving in Israel were persecuted in their countries for political and other reasons. Many of the refuge seekers underwent additional traumas like rape, torture and abuse while passing through Sinai.”
“The UN Convention states that the country the refugee arrived in is responsible for his welfare, health and rights – including freedom of movement, access to documents and the right to work. With all the complexity, there are many other solutions,” Ido said.
The municipality of Bnei Brak, a largely Jewish ultra-orthodox city just east of Tel Aviv, is also stepping up efforts against migrant workers and asylum seekers living in the suburb. In early November the city’s municipality announced it would take steps against landlords renting rooms to migrant workers, refugees and asylum seekers in the city’s Pardes Katz neighborhood.
At the time, many foreign residents reported having their electricity and water cut off without warning. When the renters spoke with their landlords, they were told to speak with the municipality. Some residents reported being without electricity and water for days.
Now the municipality is taking to court home owners who rent to migrant workers and asylum seekers.
Over the last few weeks, it has indicted a property owner on charges of violating the planning and building laws by subdividing flats into small apartments for rental purposes without a permit, reported Haaretz.
On Monday, the city’s local affairs court issued an injunction ordering the owners to cease renting the buildings until it issues its verdict, according to the news daily. The city is apparently denying charges of racism, saying it is merely upholding the law, and added that it plans to indict additional home owners on similar charges in the coming weeks.
Lior Birger of Assaf, the Aid Organization for Refugees and Asylum Seekers, protested the city’s conduct on this matter.
“Contrary to the municipality’s claims, these people are legal,” she said. “They have temporary protection documents that enable them to rent an apartment just like anyone else. It’s a pity the municipality has chosen to take such an extreme step against people who are liable to find themselves out on the street.”
Iftach Cohen, legal advisor to the Anu Plitim refugee advocacy organization, termed the decision a “direct result of the policy of the Interior Ministry headed by [Minister] Eli Yishai, which encourages poor populations to hate each other. The neglect of the impoverished ultra-Orthodox population of Bnei Brak leads to racist phenomena, and unfortunately, the municipality has given in to this mood and even bolstered it by means of selective enforcement.”
