Georgian Foreign Ministry denies mass detention of Georgians in Israel
The Georgian Foreign Ministry confirms that more than 20 Georgian citizens will be deported from Israel.Photo: Al Jazeera.
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Georgian Foreign Ministry has denied the mass detention of Georgian citizens in Israel as reported by several of Georgian media outlets.
The ministry reported earlier today that 24 Georgians have been brought to the deportation centre of Israel’s immigration service in the past few days.
Israel constantly checks foreign nationals in the country and if they find those living and working illegally, such individuals are deported from the country,” the ministry stated.
The ministry says that 12 of 24 Georgian nationals already have tickets and they have been informed regarding the deportation date.
Georgian citizens were allowed to travel visa free to Israel in 2014.
Georgia is now negotiating with the country to allow for the legal employment of Georgians.
The number of Georgian nationals seeking political asylum in Israel significantly decreased in 2017, Georgia’s Consul to Israel Aleksandre Jishkariani said.
More than 3,050 Georgian citizens requested asylum in Israel in 2016.
Jishkariani stated that the reason for the decrease was listing Georgia as a safe country by Israel in February 2017, which meant no one was considered politically prosecuted in Georgia.
The Georgian Ministry of Labour and Health has signed an agreement with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to regulate and manage labour migration of Georgians.
Georgia and Israel have agreed the two states will cooperate to reach a deal on labour migration. The decision was announced after a delegation from Israel held bilateral consultations in Tbilisi today.
2017 marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Georgia and Israel.
Georgian citizens can now travel to Israel without a visa for tourism or other private reasons.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry stated today that it has been “following with concern" the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and South Israel”. “We express deep sorrow over the casualties and injuries among the civil population caused by the rocket attacks”, the ministry stated.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who is holding meetings in Israel, has stated that relations between Georgia and Israel ‘are not only deep and close, they are historical’ as 26 centuries ‘have shaped the bonds between the Jewish and Georgian people.’ Zurabishvili has met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, with whom an agreement was reached that the process of signing the agreement on legal employment of Georgians in Israel will be accelerated.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who is on her first official visit to Israel, has attended the 5th World Holocaust Forum with top state officials across the world earlier today.
A space and memorial dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust, the World War II genocide of European Jews, will be opened in Tbilisi, Tbilisi City Assembly officials stated earlier today, while marking the international day for Holocaust victims.