Netanyahu suspends UN agreement on African migrants deportation

Israel has suspended the agreement with the United Nations which allowed the deportation of African migrants in Germany, Canada, and Italy on Tuesday.

In a Facebook post, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will discuss the (deportation) deal with Israeli residents of south Tel Aviv.

He added, "In the meantime, I am suspending the implementation of the agreement, and after meeting with the representatives I will re-examine the agreement again".

Netanyahu has taken a U-turn from his Monday's statement to a presser at the Prime Minister's office where he noted that for one or every migrant deported from Israel, one will be allowed to stay, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Later an agreement was signed between the Prime Minister's Office and the UN High Commission as per which Israel may deport around 16,250 migrants and grant temporary residency to an additional 16,000 who fulfil certain criteria to be ascertained through cooperation between Israel and the Commission.

In January, the Prime Minister had ordered thousands of African refugees to leave the country by April or face imprisonment.

Following this, the United Nations had called on Israel to halt its policy of deporting over 33,000 Eritreans and Sudanese people.

According to a UN estimate, there are nearly 27,000 Eritreans and 7,700 Sudanese people residing in Israel.

--ANI

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