Israel Suspends Plan To Send African Migrants To Western Countries

Picture of men making a protest sign

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he was suspending a plan to send thousands of migrants to three Western countries, putting the brakes on a decision he had announced only hours earlier.

Netanyahu said on his Facebook page that the deal would be re-examined. He had come under heavy criticism for the agreement by members of his coalition and citizens of a south Tel Aviv community where a large migrant community lives.

Under the plan, made with the United Nations Refugee Agency, Israel was to send at least 16,250 African migrants to Canada, Italy and Germany. Netanyahu had said earlier Monday that the agreement was the result of an "unprecedented understanding" with the UNHCR.

The plan allowed for thousands of other African migrants to stay in Israel.

There are approximately 37,000 illegal immigrants in Israel, the majority from Eritrea or Sudan, according to the Population and Immigration Authority.

This story has been updated to correct the timeline around the departure of the first 6,000 migrants.

(CNN)




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