Israel recruits African refugees for Gaza operations in exchange for settled status

Israel is recruiting African refugees for “life-threatening” operations in Gaza in exchange for settled status in the country, sources have revealed.

Defence officials told Haaretz that the project was being conducted under the guidance of legal advisers from the defence establishment in an organised manner.

There are approximately 30,000 African asylum seekers in Israel. They have faced growing pressure from anti-immigrant politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who regularly refers to them as “infiltrators”.

One man interviewed by Haaretz, who ultimately chose not to enlist, recounted being approached by a security official to join the war effort. The official explained that after a two-week training period, he would be deployed alongside other asylum seekers.

“I asked, ‘What do I get?’ even though I’m not really looking for anything,” said the man, identified as A.

“But then he told me: ‘If you go this way, you can receive documents from the State of Israel.’ He asked me to send him a photocopy of my ID and said he would take care of these things.”

According to Haaretz, none of the asylum seekers who participated in the war effort have been granted official status so far, and defence sources said that the ethical concerns surrounding the recruitment of asylum seekers had not been addressed.

The outlet reported that asylum seekers had been used in various operations, citing military sources.

“This is a very problematic matter,” one source said.

“The involvement of jurists does not absolve anyone of the obligation to consider the values by which we seek to live in Israel.”

Haaretz noted that the “manner in which the Israeli army deploys the asylum seekers is barred from publication” due to restrictions imposed by the Israeli military censor.