Israel: 70% of African immigrants are of Eritrean origin

Israel’s rapidly growing African immigrant population of around 50,000 has become a hot-button issue over the past few years. African immigrants who do not leave Israel willingly must be jailed or expelled, Interior Minister Eli Yishai has said. Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich will request an emergency meeting on violence committed by African aliens at the weekly cabinet meeting. Aharonovich will request the meeting, in part, based on police concerns that Israelis will respond to the recent violence with their own violent acts against African immigrants.