KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A Ugandan government minister says the country is "positively considering" Israel's request to take in 500 Eritrean or Sudanese migrants rejected by Israel.

It is the first official confirmation of an agreement to take in African migrants whose planned deportations have caused widespread protests in Israel.

Musa Ecweru, a Ugandan minister in charge of refugees, says the migrants will be vetted before receiving asylum.

Uganda's government has previously denied reports of a deal with Israel to take in the deported migrants.

Israel considers most of about 35,000 migrants to be job seekers and says it has no legal obligation to keep them. The Africans say they face danger if they return home.

Some protest that the deportations are a stain on Israel's image as a refuge for Jewish migrants.