Israel approved just 0.09% of asylum requests over past nine years

Israeli authorities approved just 52 of more than 55,000 asylum requests submitted since 2009, according to a report published by State Comptroller Joseph Shapira.

Of the 52 requests granted, a mere 0.09 per cent of the total applications, only ten were from Sudanese or Eritrean nationals.

Meanwhile, Haaretz noted, the processing of 29,783 of the 55,433 total requests had not been completed by the end of last year.

The government watchdog said that “the services offered to asylum seekers are extremely deficient, and there are substantial delays in handling requests – some of which are rejected out of hand due to delays in submission.”

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Shapira also noted that officials from the UNHCR refugee agency were not invited to discussions by an Israeli advisory committee, which he described as “a blow to transparency”.

The State Comptroller also accused the government of failing “to honour and implement the international commitments it took upon itself”.

The report specifically examined the issue of asylum applicants from Darfur, with 2,500 such requests submitted 2009-2017. During this period, “decisions were made in only six cases”, with refugee status eventually granted to just “a few hundred” individuals “for humanitarian reasons”.