Hundreds of Eritrean anti-government asylum seekers living in Israel took to the streets to protest an event organized by the Eritrean Embassy.
The Israeli police prevented the demonstrators who wanted to march to the area where the event was held near the Eritrean Embassy against the administration in their country.
The protesters, who broke through the police barrier, clashed with the Israeli police, who prevented the demonstrations.
Israeli police intervened in the Eritrean crowd, which they described as “illegal”, with tear gas, water cannon and batons, as well as live bullets.
In a written statement from the Israeli Police, it was noted that the protests, which turned into violent acts, damaged the surrounding shops, property and police vehicles.
In the statement, it was stated that 27 police officers were injured as a result of the violence of the protesters who attacked the police forces with stones and foreign objects.
52 asylum seekers injured
The statement said that during the events, police officers fired live bullets at protesters “because they felt in danger”.
Two Eritrean protesters were also detained.
Pointing out that the protests have continued since the morning hours, it was stated that hundreds of police officers were deployed as reinforcements to the intense police force present in the region and intervened to disperse the crowd.
On the other hand, according to hospital sources, Israeli media reported that 52 asylum seekers were injured, 6 of them seriously, during the police intervention.
African immigrants in Israel
According to the data of the Population and Immigration Administration of the Israeli Ministry of Interior, there are approximately 25,500 asylum seekers under temporary protection in Israel, mostly from Eritrea and Sudan.
Although most asylum seekers have been in Israel since 2006-2007 and the danger they face if they return to their homeland is legally recognized, Israel refuses to recognize them as refugees and grant them refugee status.
While thousands of asylum applications are not processed, some have been pending for many years.
Worldwide, Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers are recognized as refugees at around 90 percent for Eritreans and 60 percent for Sudanese. However, unlike most countries, the recognition rate of asylum seekers in Israel as a refugee is at a very low level of 1 percent.