GAZA: Hamas says Israel is responsible for the hundreds of Palestinian migrants who have left Gaza with sights set on Europe

Record ID: 348803

  • Title: GAZA: Hamas says Israel is responsible for the hundreds of Palestinian migrants who have left Gaza with sights set on Europe
  • Date: 21st September 2014
  • Summary: GAZA CITY, GAZA (SEPTEMBER 21, 2014) (REUTERS) HAMAS SPOKESPERSON IN GAZA, SALAH AL-BARDWIL, HOLDING NEWS CONFERENCE MEDIA AT SCENE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HAMAS SPOKESPERSON IN GAZA, SALAH AL-BARDWIL, SAYING: "The Zionist occupation is the main reason behind all of the crisis in Palestine. This Zionist occupation attacks the Palestinians, their homes, and businesses to for
  • Embargoed: 6th October 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Gaza
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA4A45JHF4QD6C0HTFS8ADZQU59
  • Story Text: Hamas said on Sunday (September 21) that Israel was to blame for the hundreds of Palestinian migrants who have left Gaza with sights set on Europe.
    Hamas spokesperson in Gaza, Salah Al-Bardwil, said that most of the migrants left Gaza via the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt.

    "The Zionist occupation is the main reason behind all of the crisis in Palestine. This Zionist occupation attacks the Palestinians, their homes, and businesses to force them to leave their land and open the way to the settlers to take it," said Salah Al-Bardwil.
    A devastating war with Israel has swollen the number of Palestinians in the blockaded Gaza Strip joining a perilous exodus by sea of migrants fleeing conflict in the Middle East and Africa for dreams of a new life in Europe.
    Palestinians with knowledge of smuggling tunnels' operations under the Egypt-Gaza border say between 1,500 and 2,000 Gazans have left the enclave for Europe in the past four or five months, with a trickle of individuals growing into groups of dozens during a seven-week war halted by a truce on Aug. 26.
    News that more than 700 people fleeing Africa and the Middle East may have drowned in shipwrecks in the Mediterranean over the last week has raised alarm among families of Palestinian migrants awaiting word that their loved ones had arrived safely.

    "Today I call on the Red Cross and the United Nations to search for our children to bring them back to us alive or dead. If they are dead they should tell us so we can accept it," said Suad Al-Jarf, mother of one of the missing migrants.
    In the worst incident last week, as many as 500 migrants are believed to have died after traffickers rammed their ship off Malta's coast, the International Organisation for Migration said on Monday. Those on board included Palestinians, Syrians, Egyptians and Sudanese trying to reach Europe.
    Both Israel and Egypt maintain blockades of the Gaza Strip, a territory of 1.8 million Palestinians that is dominated by Hamas, an Islamist movement which Israel and the West regard as a terrorist group and Cairo views with suspicion.
    Unemployment in the territory, according to the World Bank, is around 50 percent, but many Palestinians in need receive aid from a U.N. agency tasked for decades with their welfare, and poverty is far below the level experienced by African migrants.
    However, the July-August war with Israel - the third major offensive it has mounted since 2008 with the declared aim of halting cross-border rocket fire - has added to a sense of despair.
    More than 2,100 Palestinians were killed, many of them civilians, local officials said, and tens of thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed in the fighting that also claimed the lives of 67 Israeli soldiers and six civilians in Israel.
    For Gazans, the journey begins by registering with tunnel owners who work as brokers for three Egypt-based smugglers. Passage under the border costs around 400 U.S. dollars (USD), a bus ride to the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, 800 USD, and a place on the ship, 2000 USD, according to survivors and relatives of missing migrants.
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