According to a press release two weeks ago, Eilat's mayor demanded the urgent intervention of the Ministers of Defense, Internal Security, and Interior regarding the Sudanese matter.  It said:

Following the growing number of infiltrators from Africa and their involvement in violence, the mayor of Eilat, Meir Itzhak Halevi, sent of a letter to the deputy Prime Minister and Minister of defense, Ehud Barak, the Minister of Internal Security, Avi Dichter, and the Minister of Interior, Meir Sheetrit, in which he demanded their urgent intervention in finding a solution at the national level for this grave phenomenon.

"The City of Eilat's administration and its residents cannot keep on absorbing this hard decree without responding," the mayor warned the ministers, after repeated requests asking for the finding of a national solution as is needed for this problem.

The mayor stated that he intends to act in every legal manner at available to him in order to transfer this population to places where the refugees can receive the full services and solutions to their needs, something which Eilat will have difficulty doing because of its nature and because of the objective difficulties it confronts.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Employment, Eli Yishai, also joined the mayor's request and approached the ministers of Interior and of Internal Security in regard to the filling of jobs in the city by the infiltrators from Africa.  "I see such a phenomenon in a very grave light from the ethical and legal aspect as well as the economic aspect," he said, and added "Beyond the problematic aspect of infiltrating a border and illegal entry into Israel, there is a serious problem of jobs in the city being taken by these citizens."  The minister told the other ministers that inter-bureau cooperation is required and that he will mobilise the enforcement entities in his own bureau in order to solve the problem that is shadowing the city and its residents.

Alongside this support from the minister, the mayor demanded provision of proper solutions for those working in the tourism branch, amongst other things by permitting an allotment of foreign workers and expanding the benefits for employees in this branch.  "The moment there will be a defined allocation, it will be possible to reduce the number of Sudanese refugees, a phenomena that is constantly growing and is affecting the demographic variable of the city of Eilat," the mayor told the minister.

It goes without saying that beyond the mayor's demand for finding a solution at the national level, cooperative activities are being done under the leadership of the district police in order to reduce the implications of this phenomenon in a way that will ensure the security of the residents. [end]

The whole Sudanese refugee issue is complicated and elicits a variety of responses amongst Eilat residents and other entities.