Israel reported that a program has been in force since today that will force nearly 40,000 illegal immigrants to choose between expulsion and imprisonment, according to the France press, quoted by BTA.

At the beginning of a government meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed satisfaction with taking the measure aimed at "making migrants entering the country illegally leave"

By the end of March, these people will have to leave Israel, and if they do not, they will be imprisoned indefinitely.

According to the Israeli Ministry of the Interior, the measure refers to 38 000 people, mainly Eritreans and Sudanese. Migrants who agree to leave will receive an air ticket and nearly 3000 euros.

The Israeli Government has implicitly admitted that Sudanese and Eritrean can not return to their countries within this program. The regime in Eritrea is blamed by the UN for "ubiquitous and systematic" crimes against humanity, and Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir is subject to ICC arrest war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, AFP reminds.

According to Israeli non-governmental organizations supporting migrants, Israel has signed agreements with third countries, in the case of Rwanda and Uganda, which must accept volunteer migrants leaving Israel.

Most of these migrants have entered Israel since 2007 through the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula. Their influx was stopped after the Jewish state completed the construction of an electronic fence along the border with Egypt.

The Israeli authorities have set up detention centers in the southern part of the country, where nearly 1,500 migrants reside in a semi-free regime. These centers will be closed and migrants who refuse to leave will be sent to jail.

After March 1, migrants will still be able to voluntarily leave Israel, but for a smaller amount of financial help. Those who refuse will go to jail, warned the interior ministry.

In a statement, Interior Minister Gilad Erdan, who is in charge of implementing the program, stressed that Israel "is determined to send out tens of thousands of migrants illegally entering the country."

According to official data in 2017, 4012 illegally staying migrants traveled to Israel, 3332 of them from Sub-Saharan Africa.