Failed Deportation Law Highlights Government Dysfunction
Translated & summarized from Walla by baba
Israel's attempt to deport Eritreans supporting their home regime has been stalled due to a lack of an acting Interior Minister and failure to secure Knesset approval for the Prime Minister to exercise deportation authority. Seven Eritreans arrested under a new law were released by a court after prolonged detention. The Population and Immigration Authority stated deportations will resume upon the appointment of a new Interior Minister.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Seven Eritreans arrested under a new deportation law were released by a court due to government procedural failures.
- A law allowing deportation of asylum seekers supporting their home regimes has seen only one deportation in over a year.
- The Ministry of Interior has been without a minister since July 2025, hindering deportation approvals.
- The government approved transferring deportation authority to the Prime Minister, but Knesset approval was not obtained.
- Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir blamed the Attorney General's office for blocking deportations.
A recent attempt to deport Eritreans supporting their country's regime in Israel has been thwarted by government inaction and procedural failures, exposing significant dysfunction. The law, passed in June 2025 and initiated by MK Yuli Malinovsky, allows for the deportation of asylum seekers who support their home country's government. This measure specifically targets Eritreans who arrived in Israel claiming persecution by their nation's dictatorial regime, yet continue to participate in pro-regime events and maintain ties with its representatives.
Despite the law's passage, its implementation has been severely hampered. A year after its approval, only one out of 17 reviewed cases resulted in deportation. Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir blamed the Attorney General's office for blocking deportations and demanded an action plan. Following his pressure, a meeting involving the police and the Population and Immigration Authority led to a decision to resume administrative arrests of Eritreans suspected of supporting the regime.
Consequently, police arrested seven Eritreans in Tel Aviv, who were subsequently detained at the Givon detention facility pending deportation. Their attorney, Moshe Zechut, argued that administrative detention was being used to circumvent criminal proceedings and hold his clients without sufficient evidence for indictment, a claim the police denied, stating the arrests were lawful.
The situation escalated due to a critical vacancy: there was no acting Minister of Interior at the time of the arrests. The law stipulates that the Minister of Interior must approve deportations, but the position has been vacant since Shas left the government in July 2025. Although Justice Minister Yariv Levin briefly held the portfolio, his temporary tenure ended in October, leaving the ministry without a minister. While the government approved transferring deportation authority to the Prime Minister, the necessary Knesset plenary approval was never sought.
After prolonged administrative detention and repeated extensions that failed to prompt a government solution for the required signature, the court ordered the release of the seven Eritreans. They are now required to report periodically to the Population Authority. The Authority stated that while they completed their part, the delegation of authority to the Prime Minister was not brought for plenary approval, thus preventing deportation. They added that the process would resume once an Interior Minister is appointed.