An organized campaign is underway to recruit African migrants in Israel for the war in Gaza, according to several sources within the defense forces to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Several asylum seekers confirm this. A man, referred to by Haaretz as "A", who came to Israel at the age of 16, tells that he was called during the war's first months.
They said they were looking for "special" people for the army. They said it was a matter of life and death for Israel, he says.
When "A" hesitated, he was persuaded with promises of two weeks of training, good pay – and permanent residency in Israel.
Around 30,000 African asylum seekers are in Israel, most of them young men. Among them are approximately 3,500 Sudanese citizens who live in uncertainty with temporary residence permits that constantly need to be renewed.
According to Haaretz, voices within the military have questioned the ethical aspects of recruiting asylum seekers – many of them refugees from war-torn countries – but have been silenced.
This is a very problematic issue, says a source to Haaretz, emphasizing that the military should ask themselves what values they want to live by.
The responsible part of the military tells the newspaper that everything they do is done "legally".
To date, no recruited asylum seeker has yet received the promised permanent residence permit, writes Haaretz.
