Israel establishes DNA database of illegal African migrants: report

Source : Xinhua

JERUSALEM, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli police have been collecting the DNA of detained African migrants for over a year, the Ha'aretz daily reported Thursday.

The compilation of the DNA database began in January 2012, and there are now samples from 606 Africans, chiefly Sudanese and Eritrean nationals  who infiltrated into Israel from its border with Egypt and are being detained at a desert holding facility, said the report.

The Israeli police have noted the growing involvement of migrants in crimes -- a 61-percent rise in criminal files opened against Sudanese and Eritrean nationals between 2011 and 2012, according to official figures cited in the report.

An estimated 60,000 African labor migrants and asylum-seekers currently live in Israel, mostly in southern Tel Aviv and the Red Sea port of Eilat.

A new high-tech 240-km-long border fence and a government directive that enables the police to detain them for up to three years without trial have led to a dramatic drop in their numbers - - from thousands every year to less than a dozen over the past year.

As far as is known, the Israeli police have not solved any crime involving Africans via the existing DNA database, Ha'aretz said.

Human rights groups have slammed the police, saying that the decision to arbitrarily investigate the illegal migrants is " discriminatory" and "damaging" to individuals forced to provide DNA sample