Seven year-old Sudanese girl among those shot to death as she attempted to cross into Israel.
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Egyptian border police shot a seven-year-old Sudanese girl to death along with another refugee, aged 30, at the Egyptian-Israeli border on Saturday.
The Egyptians opened fire on the two Africans as they attempted to cross into Israel. Seven additional refugees were arrested at the time of the incident, including the mother of the seven-year-old who was killed.
Since the beginning of the year, 16 African refugees have been killed while attempting to cross into Israel from Egypt.
A week ago a man was shot to death when he tried to enter Israel via Sinai. Despite UN opposition, Egypt expelled the last 1000 infiltrators. Egypt continues to struggle with the stream of Sudanese refugees due to pressure from the US and Israel.
The Knesset recently authorized a first reading of a bill intended to prevent infiltration. According to the proposal, each person attempting to cross into Israel illegally would be liable for a five-year prison term regardless of whether the person is a refugee or an undocumented worker.