Israel turns away asylum-seekers

Eighteen of 21 people seeking asylum in Israel were turned away by the government after a days-long controversy, officials said. The group, seeking political asylum at the Sinai border, had been in limbo as Israeli courts debated a human rights group's request to grant the group entrance to the country. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told The Jerusalem Post he is committed not to allow "infiltrators" into the country. "We are determined to stop the flood of infiltrators that has been here. We built this fence [on the Sinai border] and it has already lowered the number of infiltrators by 90 percent. We will intensify steps against those who employ illegal infiltrators and we will continue the effort to return infiltrators to their countries of origin," he said. The three individuals granted entry were two women, one of whom had suffered a miscarriage, and a 14-year-old boy. Immigration advocates argued members of the group, believed to be from Eritrea, were at risk of violence at the hands of Bedouin smugglers if they were not allowed into Israel. Government officials noted they were under no obligation to allow the group to enter the country.