Israel seeks to build tent camp for African migrants with no sewage or proper facilities

The National Building and Planning Council will consider exempting the construction of refugee camps in the south from almost all planning regulations on Tuesday. The Defense Ministry has asked the council to exempt the Israel Defense Forces and the ministry's construction division from approval by the local authority and its construction committee engineer. The ministry says the move, together with other proposed changes in the plans for the camps, are intended "to meet the tight schedule to implement the cabinet's decision" to build the camp for African refugees crossing the Egyptian border into Israel. But the Bimkom planning rights group says the exemption and changes would create "a huge concentration camp with harsh conditions. The changes would enable the imprisonment of thousands of people in tents for three years or more, in difficult physical conditions and extreme climate conditions." The Building and Planning Council will also consider significant changes in the national master plan - which does not allow for placing migrants in tents - to enable the internment of African migrants in the encampments immediately. For the full article, click here.