Israel to deport illegal immigrants from Africa

Israeli officials announced that they plan to begin deporting thousands  of Africans who have slipped over the border through Egypt.
The  Africans began trickling into Israel in 2005, after Egypt violently  quashed a demonstration by Sudanese refugees, in which at least 27 were  killed.  The number of new arrivals has surged in recent months as word  spread of safety and job opportunities in Israel.
The result is that  Israel is torn between a sense of duty to help people who are fleeing  persecution and the surging influx of illegal immigrants.
According  to Israeli officials, more than 7,000 Africans have entered the country  illegally in just over a year, including more than 2,000 this year  alone, according to Michael Bavly, a representative in Israel of the  United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The majority are from  Eritrea and Sudan.
As the Africans arrived in Israel, the country  provided shelter and arranged menial jobs in hotels and on kibbutz  collective farms.  The country recently granted temporary residency  status to 600 refugees from Darfur, and gave work permits to about 2,000  others from Eritrea whose lives would be endangered if sent home.
But  Israel has pledged that the rest will be deported.  Officials said the  Africans are in the country purely for economic opportunities.
On  Sunday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert directed authorities to expel 4,500  Africans, including people from the Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Nigeria, by  the end of the week.