Israel Court Orders Shuts Down of Holot in 90 days

From [HERE] For African immigrants living in South Tel Aviv, there is only one fate they dread almost as much returning to their troubled homelands: being sent to Holot, a spartan detention center deep in the Negev desert.

Israel’s high court handed the community a huge reprieve when it ruled on September 22 that the government must close the much reviled Holot within 90 days, and then struck down a provision allowing foreign asylum seekers who entered Israel illegally to be held for a year without trial. The ruling states that detaining immigrants as prisoners “violates human rights in an essential, deep and fundamental way.”

The closure of Holot — assuming it happens — will not only set free the 2,200 Sudanese and Eritrean people detained there; it will also have a profound impact on an estimated 47,000 asylum seekers in Israel, many of whom live in South Tel Aviv.

According to local activists, African asylum seekers who had lived in the country for five years or longer were ordered to report to Holot when they went to the Ministry of the Interior to renew their visas. Since the high court ruling, community members no longer feel as though they are simply biding their time before being sent to the detention facility. [MORE]