Authorities have told the High Court they will stop holding deportation hearings and and previous expulsion decisions have now been nullified.

In an embarrassing climbdown, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admits that his plan to relocate African asylum seekers has fallen through and there’s currently no possibility of forcibly detaining them.

Detention centres established for asylum seekers – mainly from Eritrea and Sudan – will be reopened.

Visas, renewable after 60 days,  will be issued to migrants currently being held.

This is a victory for the coalition of human rights groups that petitioned the High Court last month to demand that those who face deportation be allowed to see the agreements Israel allegedly signed with Rwanda or Uganda, the countries to which it planned to deport them. 

Both African nations deny the existence of such deals.

The post Israeli government admits forced deportation of African asylum seekers has collapsed appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.