The case in summary: Palestinians in the Gaza Strip often have to pay large sums to get out of the area, due to travel restrictions. The payment goes to a private Egyptian company that “coordinates” the trip. Desperate Palestinians pay up to 10,000 dollars in bribes to Egyptian brokers to get a seat on the bus crossing the border. Many sell everything they own to afford to pay for the trip, including apartments and cars. Egypt denies that corruption takes place at the border, and many who have paid do not dare to come forward for fear of reprisals. Those who cannot afford to pay are stuck in Gaza, often in makeshift tents at the border crossing. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. That one can pay over the border to Egypt is neither surprising nor new. But because of the war, the pressure has become much greater, and people have far less. Several Palestinians news has spoken to at the Rafah border crossing in the south of the Gaza Strip tell the same thing: When they apply for exit, they are told by Palestinian officials to “coordinate” their journey with the Egyptian side. In practice, this means that they have to pay a larger sum of money to a private Egyptian company. It is different for foreign nationals. Norwegian citizens were taken out of the Gaza Strip as early as November last year. Who is allowed to travel is up to Egypt Border commander on the Palestinian side, Hisham Eduam, says that about 500 people leave the Gaza Strip every day. Palestinian officials help with the organization of departure and the stamping of passports. Who gets to travel out, on the other hand, is up to Egypt. Photo: news Officially, it is primarily people with foreign citizenships, in addition to 15 Palestinians with extraordinary injuries who must be treated abroad. But most people who get a seat on the bus that crosses the border have paid in expensive judgments. Desperate Palestinians pay up to $10,000 in bribes to Egyptian brokers, according to an investigation by The Guardian. Sources news have spoken to say the same. Most state that they are asked to pay 5,000 dollars per adult, 2,500 dollars for children. He sold everything In sheer desperation, there are several people who now sell everything they have of value, to get money. Journalists news collaborates with on the Gaza strip, have spoken to one of them. He does not want to appear with a picture or name. – To get me and my children out, I had to pay 20,000 dollars, he says. The man said he had to sell everything he owned of value, including his apartment and car. news has tried to contact the company he used to get out, but received no response. On their Facebook page, there are several people who are begging for help, and who say that they cannot get through on the given telephone number. Few of those who have paid dare to come forward, because they do not want to get into trouble with the Egyptian authorities, who have never officially acknowledged that corruption takes place at the border. Egypt’s embassy tells news that they are not familiar with the situation, and that they cannot comment on the information, because it is based on “unreliable sources”. – The problem now is that I didn’t get a receipt, the Palestinian father told the first time the journalists in Gaza spoke to him. – I was told that I will be leaving on Thursday, but have not received any paper, says the man who recently paid over NOK 200,000 in “coordination fees”. Instead, he had a piece of paper stuck to his passport, which was supposed to last. For a few, an expensive sticker is the way out of the war. Photo: news – They only register us But for the vast majority of people, $5,000 is impossible to obtain. Abid Rahman Alfarah has been living in a makeshift tent at the border crossing for over two months. Now he is begging the Arab world and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for help. – There is no food, drink or military aid here. They just register us. Nobody does anything for us. He is Palestinian, but received a residence permit in Egypt in November. Nevertheless, he is told to “coordinate” the departure by the border guards, i.e. pay 5,000 dollars. – How am I going to get 5,000 dollars? I don’t even have 500 dollars, he says. Abid Rahman Alfarah lives by the border with Egypt, in the hope that he will soon be able to travel over. Photo: news Desperation spreads Palestinians are desperate to get out of the deadly war zone. Around 1.8 million people are internally displaced, half of the buildings are destroyed, according to the BBC. Children are dying of malnutrition as a result of Israel’s blockade of food supplies. Suzann Elayan has a residence permit in Belgium, and was visiting relatives in Gaza when the war broke out. She says that all the relatives have been killed. – I don’t understand that I have survived. Suzann Elayan is completely alone. The husband and children are in Belgium. Now he has made it to the border crossing, but is stuck. She also told him to “coordinate” departure. – For God’s sake, get me out of here. I’m so tired. I am very tired. I can’t live another minute in Gaza, she says, choking back tears. The man who paid over 200,000 got a seat on the bus out of the Gaza Strip on Thursday. He dreams of finding work in programming, but is open to anything, anywhere. In any case, the most important thing is that he and his family are at a safe distance from the war. Abid and Suzann are still in the border town of Rafah, together with 1.5 million others. Abid says that people are now selling both their houses and their gold. But his house is a bomb, and he has no gold to sell. – The only thing I have left is God. Hør Utanriksredaktionen’s podcast:
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He sold everything he owned to get out of Gaza – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
