‘Trampled under the boots of the right-wing’: Israeli PM Netanyahu cancels UN deal to resettle African migrants
He announced on Monday that he agreed to cancel the planned expulsion of thousands of asylum seekers, but just hours later he put it on hold and then finally scrapped it altogether
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to cancel a deal with the United Nations to resettle African migrants in Western nations.
After meeting with angry residents of south Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Netanyahu said he reconsidered after hearing their concerns. Netanyahu faced heavy criticism from nationalist allies, even within his own ruling Likud party.
Netanyahu had announced on national television on Monday that Israel had agreed to cancel the planned expulsion of tens of thousands of African migrants. Under the deal, roughly half of the 35,000 migrants living in Israel would be resettled in the West. But the rest would stay in Israel. But just hours later he reversed course, saying he was putting it on hold.
The issue has divided Israel for a decade and drawn fierce criticism.
Dozens of migrants and their Israeli supporters protested the prime minister’s decision to shelve the deal, gathering outside his office in Jerusalem and government offices in Tel Aviv.