Security forces on Saturday foiled an attempt by three Ethiopians to cross into Israel, a security source said.
The same source added that a police patrol detected the infiltrators while they were attempting to cross into Israel via the Karim Abu Salem crossing in central Sinai. The patrol fired warning shots in the air and arrested the three Ethiopians.
The three attempted immigrants are Falasha Mura Jews who admitted to attempting to sneak into Israel to visit their relatives and seek political asylum there.
They said they paid US$1200 to smugglers to help them cross into Israel.
Irregular African migration to Israel via Sinai has been on the rise since 2005, with smuggling rings developing across the peninsula.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
