Claim: African immigration to Israel has been happening in the past, such that a special visa, renewable every three months, was once given to 16,766 African illegal immigrants allowing them to stay and work in Israel.
Evidence: In the second half of the 2000s, there was a significant increase in the number of undocumented workers who immigrated from Africa to Israel by crossing the Egyptian border. 16,766 of them received a special visa (ס 2א 5) granted to illegal immigrants who are non-deportable asylum seekers. Officially, the visa allows them only to stay in the country, but in practice the state also allows the refugees to work and avoids imposing fines on the Israeli employers who employ them. This special visa requires renewal every three months.