Tabled by: Government on 28 March 2011
This bill, sponsored by the government, comes after the government had to drop a similar proposal in July 2010, due to harsh public criticism.
This is an amendment to the existing Law to Prevent Infiltration, which was passed in 1954 and was originally limited to a state of emergency and intended for dealing with “Fedayeen.” The declared purpose of this amendment is to deter asylum seekers and refugees, who have been entering Israel in recent years, by using draconian arrest measures. Among other things, this bill proposes a three-year minimum imprisonment of asylum seekers and refugees and of their children, even if there is no possibility or intention of deporting them. In some cases, the imprisonment could be indefinite. The law further stipulates that judicial oversight of the arrest will only take place after 14 days; it will be preformed by an administrative court; and this administrative court will not be able to release arrested refugees before the three-year sentence except under extraordinary humanitarian circumstances.
This law would aggravate the situation of asylum seekers who are minors accompanying their parents. It does not acknowledge the prohibition to arrest children (unless the arrest is a last resort); does not state the principle of the child’s welfare as a reason for release; does not require the involvement of welfare authorities in the arrest procedure; does not include special mechanisms for ensuring the rights of minors accompanying their parents; and on fact abandons the children to the arbitrariness of the draconian arrest orders stipulated in this law.
The original version of this bill stipulated that a refugee or asylum seeker found guilty of property damage – including minor offenses such as bicycle theft or graffiti – could receive a life sentence; furthermore, the previous version of this bill set a five year prison sentence on those who offer any form of aid to refugees – and even fifteen years should a person persists in offering aid after being prosecuted.
In the final version of the law, the articles relating to criminal offenses and to aiding refugees were somewhat “softened,” in the sense that they now relate only to persons who entered Israel without a permit and were caught carrying weapons or trafficking in human beings or drugs. This, despite the fact that the government pushed for this law to relate to all aid to refugees.
However, even in its new version, this law is draconian and immoral, and its entire purpose is to deter refugees from entering Israel. The law blatantly disregards Israel’s most basic commitments as a member of the community of nations and as a signatory to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. The State of Israel has the right to protect its borders, but not by trampling human rights and ignoring democratic values.
On 9 January 2012, the Knesset plenum has approved this bill in its final reading and passed it as a law.
28 March 2011: Bill is presented by the government
30 March 2011: Bill passes first reading
19 December 2011: The Knesset Constitution Committee approved this bill for its second-third reading
10 January 2012: The Knesset plenum has approved the bill in its final reading
Status: Bill has been enacted as law.
