Israel is erecting a tent city in the Negev Desert to accommodate Sudanese refugees. Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter announced Monday that with hundreds of refugees from Darfur and other Sudanese trouble spots flocking to Israel through the Egyptian Sinai, the tent city would be set up near the remote Negev prison of Kziot. Under the plan, temporary accommodation will be made available for up to 1,000 refugees while Israel tries to stem the influx by negotiating with Egypt on sealing the border. Dozens of recently arrived Sudanese squatted in Beersheba, only to be shuttled to Jerusalem in a protest move by the southern town’s municipality. Israel’s failure to deal with the refugees adequately has raised an outcry among some who see the Jewish state as obligated to provide asylum to those fleeing persecution.
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