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The Belarusian pilgrims were sent to Krasnodar. The number of refusals to enter Israel has increased again
09.08.2019
In 2018, about 550 citizens of Belarus did not receive permission to enter Israel at Ben-Gurion Airport, which is 1.5 times more than the year before. This year, the number of refusals has «significantly increased and has already reached 390 people in the first half of the year alone». This was reported by the Ambassador of Belarus to Israel, Vladimir Skvortsov, to «Arguments and Facts in Belarus», the Foreign Ministry website reports.
According to the ambassador, at first, after the countries concluded a visa-free agreement, Belarusian citizens did not have any particular problems when crossing the Israeli border.
— Today, unfortunately, we are dealing with a negative trend that has begun to develop in arithmetic progression. In 2018, the number of compatriots who did not receive permission to enter Israel at Ben-Gurion Airport reached approximately 550 people, which is 1.5 times more than the year before. And this year it has increased significantly again and has already reached 390 people in the first half of the year alone, — said Vladimir Skvortsov.
The most common reason for refusal to enter Israel, the ambassador says, is suspicion that many foreigners, indicating tourism as the purpose of their visit, are actually, according to officials, coming to the country in search of work. Another reason for deportations is the sharp increase in the number of applications for refugee status submitted by foreigners.
— At the same time, according to some Israeli deputies familiar with the problem, among the relatively small number of such requests from Belarus, there are practically no real, justified ones, — the diplomat claims.
The ambassador cited several high-profile cases where Belarusians were refused entry to Israel.
— A 39-year-old patient with a skin disease and his 70-year-old father, who had paid for their vacation on the Dead Sea in advance, were «turned away» at the airport on the pretext that one of them allegedly had too much money, $1,000, which was regarded as «evidence of the intention to stay in Israel illegally». The paradox of the situation is that in other cases, it was the lack of a sufficient amount of cash by Israeli standards that served as a reason for expelling people, — said Vladimir Skvortsov. — Recently, an 11-year-old girl heading to Israel to visit her aunt and who had visited her many times before was also deported solely on suspicion of attempting to stay in the country illegally.
Another recent example. In July, a group of pilgrims, including doctors, teachers, and entrepreneurs, who were heading to Israel on a tour of the Holy Land, were denied entry during passport control without a clear explanation of the reasons. According to the group's members, they were suspected of intending to find employment in Israel. At the same time, no arguments were provided by the immigration officials to substantiate their suspicions. The pilgrims were kept at the airport for a day and expelled from Israel, but not home, but to Krasnodar.
The ambassador says that some citizens of Belarus are calling for a review of the visa-free entry arrangement with Israel.
— At the same time, despite all the concern and some disappointment with the current situation, I have believed and continue to believe that the abolition of the visa regime between Belarus and Israel has played a generally constructive role in strengthening bilateral relations and taking them to a new level. And today, it would probably be more correct to raise the question not of returning to the visa regime, but of the need to improve the practice of applying the agreement and continuing an active critical dialogue with partners on this topic.
Source: www.tut.by
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