Two Africans killed, many wounded in continued violent migrant clashes in Israel

Several clashes among African migrants in Israel on Saturday claimed two lives and wounded at least 17 people. The epicenter of the violence is south Tel Aviv, where the majority of the African migrants in Israel reside.

A Sudanese citizen in his 30s was shot dead during a migrant clash in Tel Aviv on Saturday, Israeli police reported.

The killing was connected to a drug war between criminals, according to local authorities.

In addition, at least eight Eritrean migrants were wounded during clashes in the impoverished Hatikvah neighborhood in south Tel Aviv.

Police arrested at least a dozen individuals among the Eritrean migrants who were divided between supporters and opponents of the Eritrean regime.

In a separate incident, an Eritrean man was stabbed to death in Netanya, a normally peaceful coastal resort city north of Tel Aviv. At least eight Eritrean nationals were also injured during the fight that reportedly took place on Herzl Street, one of Netanya’s main thoroughfares.

Footage on social media from Netanya showed migrants throwing chairs at each other while police officers fired shots in the air to break up the fighting.

נתניה: מספר זירות של אלימות מסתננים בדקות האחרונות בעיר.
דווח על מס' פצועים, כמו כן בוצע ירי משטרתי.
נכון לשעה זו נרצח אחד ופונו מעל 10 פצועים אריתראים.
טירוף. pic.twitter.com/RGVQ6SztCY
— ידידיה אפשטיין (@yedidya_epstien) September 30, 2023

The oppressive rule of Eritrean dictator Isaias Afwerki has pushed hundreds of thousands of Eritreans to flee abroad. While a small number has reached Israel, many more have tried to reach the European continent and other places of freedom. While most Eritrean expats oppose the Afwerki regime, there are pockets of pro-regime activists in Israel and other countries.

In early September, hundreds of Eritreans rioted in south Tel Aviv in unprecedented scenes of violence in Israel. Dozens of Israeli police officers were injured during the clashes between pro- and anti-regime activists. Israeli media reported that the riots led to the hospitalization of up to 170 individuals.

Prof. Roni Gamzo, the director of Israel's Ichilov Hospital, stressed the gravity of the clashes.

"More than 40 wounded people suddenly arrived at the emergency room. We activated a small emergency room and, in light of the unexpected arrival of the wounded in very quick stages, then activated a large emergency room, which means hundreds of staff members,” Gamzo said.

HaMoked for Refugees and Immigrants, an organization that assists refugees and asylum seekers, accused the Eritrean embassy of provoking the violence.

“The demonstrators wanted to protest the blatant interference of the Eritrean embassy in the lives of those who fled the brutal dictatorship. Eritrean embassies around the world are pursuing asylum seekers, and in other countries, embassy events have been canceled precisely because of the fear of flare-ups as we see before our eyes now.”

Following the serious clashes this weekend, Knesset Member Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionism party said he would propose a bill to make it easier to deport illegal migrants from Israel.

“The events of last Shabbat only strengthened the need for rapid advancement of the solutions to remove the infiltrators from Israel,” Rothman said.

The right-wing politician urged for broad support of his initiative.

“I call on all the Zionist factions in the Knesset for whom the Jewish and democratic identity of the State of Israel is important to join and support the bill,” Rothman said.