Israeli human rights organizations in response to the passing of the 5th amendment to the Anti-Infiltration Law:
“We Will Appeal to the High Court and Continue to Fight Until the Knesset Promotes an Appropriate and Legal Solution”
The Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, ASSAF, Physicians for Human Rights, Kav LaOved, the African Refugee Development Center and Amnesty International-Israel responded yesterday evening (Monday, December 8) to the passing of the 5th amendment to the Anti-Infiltration Law by the Knesset plenum:
“Today, the Knesset approved continuing to debase the High Court, to mislead the residents of southern Tel Aviv and to waste taxpayers’ money on wrong solutions. Incarceration for almost two years in the Holot facility and placing restrictions on employers of asylum-seekers will ensure that the rights of asylum-seekers will continue to be violated, and that the hardships of south Tel Aviv’s residents will only be exacerbated. Even the supporters of the law openly stated that its only goal is to prevent the shutting down of the Holot facility, as ordered by the High Court. This is while the Knesset can vote on real solutions, for example the bill for south Tel Aviv’s restoration proposed by the Labor, Yesh Atid and Meretz parties.”
In the past two years, the organizations filed two petitions to the High Court, which were both accepted, leading to the abrogation of two previous versions of the law. They added: “We will continue to fight this unconstitutional law and file a case against it to the High Court, hoping that the next Knesset will finally promote an appropriate solution to south Tel Aviv’s Israeli residents and asylum-seekers alike, instead of more incitement and populism.”
