According to The Times of Israel newspaper, the country's Aviation Authority has received over 7,500 requests from refugees asking pilots not to bring them to places where they would face deadly danger. One of the pilots, Iddo Elad, reportedly posted on his Facebook page that that he would not "fly refugees to their death."
On Monday, dozens of Eritrean and Sudanese refugees protested in front of President Reuven Rivlin’s residence in Jerusalem over the forced deportations, and some 1,000 protesters gathered in the city of Herzlia, the newspaper added.
READ MORE: Israeli Court Supports Deporting Asylum Seekers Back to Rwanda, Uganda
'I won't fly refugees to their deaths': The El Al pilots resisting deportation #Israel #Eritrea https://t.co/T9r9jHt3EG via @972mag
— Brehane-meskel Araya (@brehane007) January 23, 2018
In December, the Israeli parliament passed an amendment to the "Prevention of Infiltration Act," targeting refugees mainly from Sudan and Eritrea. The bill stipulates the closure of the country's Holot detention facility and deportation of Eritrean and Sudanese refugees from March.
Israel hosts nearly 38,000 African migrants, with over 70 percent coming from Eritrea and 20 percent from Sudan, the newspaper said, citing the Interior Ministry.
