Since the humanitarian crisis began in Darfur in 2003, according to credible sources 200,000 Sudanese have been killed, 2.2 million have been internally displaced, approximately 236,000 have fled to neighbouring Chad and 60,000 to Egypt. Each year in that same period of time approximately 700 African migrants have walked across Egypt's border into Israel. In 2007, the number of migrants that came through Egypt into Israel greatly increased. As the numbers have continued to rise, Israel has been eager to curb the migration across its borders.
The crisis in Darfur can largely be attributed to the emergence of militias that have attacked civilians. The predomininantly African population of Darfur has been subjected to raping, pillaging and mass murder led by so-called Janjaweed militias, which are ethnically Arab in origin. Complicating things further, some Janjaweed tribes are now fighting each other, with the Terjem fighting the Mahria and further south the Habanniya fighting with the Salamat. Many allege the Janjaweed have the tacit approval of the government in Khartoum. The Sudanese President, Lieutenant-General Omar al-Bashir, has denied this allegation. He has also finally agreed to co-operate with United Nations and African Union, allowing a 26,000-strong joint peace keeping force to be deployed.
Meanwhile, some Sudanese have fled terror in their country and managed to reach Israel after crossing Egypt, where they might have stayed for one month or forty. They have done this in the hope of a higher standard of living and more freedom in Israel, though in the past three months Egyptian border police have shot at, killed and beaten Sudanese attempting to cross the border.
By June 2007, 50 to 70 migrants were entering Israeli territory each night. Sudanese have been heading to northern Egypt, where Bedouins charge up to $2400 to be guided to Israel's borders. Due to Israel's prominence in the region, African migrants sometimes think Israel is a large country and not a sliver of land that is approximately one-tenth the size of Victoria, with a population of 6.9 million to support.
In July 2007, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced that any further illegal immigrants caught trying to enter into Israel via the border with Egypt would be returned to Egypt. This decision came after an agreement was reached with Egyptian Prime Minister Hosni Mubarak that the Sudanese would not be sent back to Sudan. Egyptian officials have since denied the existence