JERUSALEM, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The number of African immigrants illegally entering Israel sharply decreased in June, Israel's Interior Ministry said Tuesday.
According to Population, Immigration and Borders Authority ( PIBA) of the Interior Ministry, five African immigrants illegally entered Israel in June 2013, compared to 928 in June 2012.
A total of 34 African immigrants illegally entered Israel in the first half of 2013, compared to 9,570 in the same time period of last year, according to PIBA statistics.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday evening welcomed the positive signs, attributing them to the authorities' "comprehensive measures" against illegal immigration.
Currently, about 60,000 labor migrants and asylum seekers reside in Israel, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea. Among their destinations, southern Tel Aviv and the Red Sea port city of Eilat witness large concentrations of African immigrants.
The construction of a hi-tech security barrier along Israel- Egypt border and the amending of Infiltration Prevention Law help to reduce illegal immigration, the PIBA said Tuesday.
Earlier June, Israeli government informed the Supreme Court that it has struck an agreement with an unnamed third country to repatriate illegal immigrants.
Feedback
RSS
