Interior Minister Gilad Erdan has approved a new policy in which the State of Israel will proactively offer illegal immigrants detained at the Holot center a deal for leaving Israel to a “safe third country” – i.e., not their country of origin, where they are purportedly facing persecution.

The infiltrators who receive the offer will receive 30 days to prepare for leaving Israel. If the infiltrator does not agree to leave, a hearing will be held and it will be decided whether he should be sent to internment, since he is not cooperating with attempts to expel him.

The infiltrator will be given full information about the process by which he is to leave Israel, and the absorption process he will undergo in the third country. The entire process, including flight tickets, hotel accomodations and an “exit stipend” of $3,500, is arranged by the state of Israel and funded by the Israeli taxpayer.

Israel has reached agreements with two “third countries” in Africa that are willing to absorb infiltrators who entered Israel and cannot be sent back to their countries of origin.

From early 2014, about 1,500 infiltrators voluntarily left Israel for third countries, and another 7,000 returned to their countries of origin.