i24 News – Israel launched a voluntary exit operation for Filipino citizens residing illegally in the country, the Population and Immigration Authority announced. The operation will continue until the end of November.
It will be aimed at families with children and will offer them voluntary departure from the Jewish state in return for a grant of 5,000 dollars, which will be spread over one year.
More than a decade ago, a similar attempt was made to expel families of Filipino citizens, mostly mothers with their children, from Israel, but the operation provoked strong public opposition and ultimately failed.
Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority drew conclusions and launched a new program, in cooperation with the Philippine government and the Philippine Embassy in Israel.
Families wishing to leave the country can contact a special center that will carry out the procedure for them.
According to Tomer Moskowitz, the director of the Population and Immigration Authority, “most of the illegal immigrants entered as tourists, Eritreans, and Sudanese,” he told Walla! News.
“We are seriously working on another voluntary exit operation for nationals staying here, details of which will be released in the near future,” he added.
According to official data, 30,000 illegal immigrants resided in Israel in 2020.
In January 2018, the government approved an agreement to deport them to a third country, Rwanda, with a grant of 3,500 dollars and Kigali was to receive an additional 5,000 dollars for each person received.
The plan did not materialize due to European pressure on the Rwandan presidency, and the deal fell apart.
Many of the Filipinos here take jobs as caretakers for the elderly and are peaceful people. The Sudanese, on the other hand, have many criminals among them that cause lots of trouble here. It makes no sense to kick out the Filipinos and yet leave the Sudanese!
Furthermore, a number of Filipinos have converted to Judaism. Not so, the Sudanese! Leave it to the messed up Israeli government to kick out the wrong people!