Rival Eritrean groups clash in Israel, leaving dozens hurt in worst confrontation in recent memory

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Rival Eritrean groups clash in Israel, leaving dozens hurt in worst confrontation in recent memory

BY OHAD ZWIGENBERG AND SAM MCNEIL
Updated 1:40 PM EDT, September 2, 2023

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Hundreds of Eritrean government supporters and opponents clashed with each other and with Israeli police Saturday, leaving dozens injured in one of the most violent street confrontations among African asylum seekers and migrants in Tel Aviv in recent memory.

Among those hurt were 30 police officers and three protesters hit by police fire.

Eritreans from both sides faced off with construction lumber, pieces of metal, rocks and at least one axe, tearing through a neighborhood of south Tel Aviv where many asylum seekers live. Protesters smashed shop windows and police cars, and blood spatter was seen on sidewalks. One government supporter was lying in a puddle of blood in a children’s playground.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would convene a meeting Sunday to discuss steps against those who participated in the clashes, including deportations. A statement by his office referred to them as “illegal infiltrators.”

The clashes came as Eritrean government supporters marked the 30th anniversary of the current ruler’s rise to power. The event was held near the Eritrean embassy in south Tel Aviv. Eritrea has one of the world’s worst human rights records. Asylum seekers in Israel and elsewhere say they fear death if they were to return.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/israel-eritreans-protest-asylum-seekers-clashes-4e9824a25b635ee0fd669fb1b31d7a62

[DFW]

1. The Eritreans fought so hard for their independence, and now this.

If they just wanted dictatorship, they could have stayed part of Ethiopia.

Eritrea is one of only two countries left in the world that does not (or did not as of recently) recognize residence-based taxation. That means that their citizens living abroad—many in the USA—have to file Ertirean tax returns as well as tax returns in the country in which they reside. For a country with a large number of citizens residing abroad, this is a huge burden on its people. All other countries (except one) now recognize residence-based taxation, and make lives easier for their citizens living abroad.