Like other right-wing governments in the West, Israel will not be participating in the international conference in Morocco this month where the United Nations will present the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.

Agreement to develop the compact and introduce it at a conference had been reached during meetings of the UN General Assembly in September 2016. At the time, the plan was for participants to sign the convention in Marrakesh, even though it would not be legally binding. Representatives from Israel’s Foreign Ministry participated in the discussions during which the convention was written, but on Nov. 20 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would not be participating in the conference nor would it become a signatory to the compact.

“We have a duty to protect our borders against illegal infiltrators,” Netanyahu said. “That’s what we’ve done, and that’s what we will continue to do.”

Netanyahu first announced his opposition after the newspaper Israel HaYom revealed that Israel planned to take part in the initiative. The paper's reporting generated a reproach from the right. Israeli opponents of migration believe that the country’s very participation in the initiative would be a step too far. A major reason behind this opposition is the supposedly liberal character of the initiative, which blurs distinctions between illegal immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees.