Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) – In an attempt to deal with the rising inflow of illegal African immigrants,the Israeli Cabinet on Sunday adopted a controversial measure to construct a detention center for migrants who enter the country from neighbor nation Egypt.

The center would be constructed in the southern Israeli desert where the migrants would be given food, shelter and basic health services until they were deported to their homeland.

Stressing the need to stop thousands of migrant workers, Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu said the influx could threaten Israeli jobs as well as the Jewish character of Israel as a state.

The prime minister went on to say that refugees from war-torn African nations such as Sudan would be granted unrestricted entry to Israel as in the past. However, officials claimed only 35,000 Africans were refugees and the remainder were treated as illegal economic migrants.

The plan has been criticized by human rights groups and social workers, who charge the facility would be similar to ghettoes the Nazis built for the Jews during World War II.

Israeli authorities claim the facility will not be a jail. “We aren’t jailing or distancing them,” Eyal Gabai, the director-general of Netanyahu’s office, told Al Jazeera. “They can have a good time, eat and drink.”

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