The Holot detention center or Holot prison was a facility of the

Israel Prison Service Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

intended for the detention of

illegal immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwa ...

from

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

and

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

who had been living in Israel after having entered through the

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

border prior to the building of the

Egypt–Israel barrier The Egypt–Israel barrier or Egypt–Israel border fence ( he, שְׁעוֹן הַחוֹל, translit=Shaʽon HaḤol, lit=sand clock) refers to a separation barrier built by Israel along its border with Egypt. Initial construction on the ba ...

in 2013. The facility was opened on December 12, 2013, about two kilometers from the Israel–Egypt border, near Ktzi'ot Prison and Saharonim Prison. As countries are prohibited under international law from expelling asylum seekers who have already reached another nation, Israel designed Holot as a detention center for refugees as a way to coerce them into requesting to be deported away from Israel. The facility included three wings, each of which for 1,120 inmates, and an administrative wing. In September 2014, the

Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court (, ''Beit HaMishpat HaElyon''; ar, المحكمة العليا) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme C ...

declared that the facility should be closed, on the ground that Holot infringed on the human right of "human dignity": “infiltrators do not lose one ounce of their right to human dignity just because they reached the country in this way or another.” After almost four years, on March 14, 2018, the facility was finally closed.

References

{{Prison-stub Immigration detention centers and prisons