Palestinian Ambassador in Egypt Pleas for Temporary Residency Permits for 100,000 Gazans Amid Ongoing Conflict with Israel
The Palestinian Embassy in Egypt is requesting temporary residency permits for approximately 100,000 Gazans who have fled the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
These individuals lack the necessary documents to enroll their children in schools, start businesses, open bank accounts, travel, or access health insurance.
Ambassador Diab Al-Louh emphasized that the permits would only be granted for legal and humanitarian purposes, and that those who have recently arrived since the war began on October 7 have no intention of settling in Egypt.
The Palestinian Authority is requesting temporary residencies for Gazan residents from Egypt during the ongoing crisis.
The Egyptian government has previously provided support, but this issue raises sovereignty concerns at a high level.
Egypt has been vocal against mass displacement of Palestinians, framing it as a rejection of the "Nakba" and settlement in foreign countries.
The Egyptian State Information Service did not comment on the matter.
The Rafah Crossing on Egypt's border with Gaza has served as a key entry point for aid deliveries and passenger traffic during the ongoing war.
However, departures from Gaza have been severely restricted to medical evacuees, foreigners, dual nationals, and those who pay fees to a Sinai businessman's company.
Only those with security clearance from both Israel and Egypt are allowed to leave.
Approximately 100,000 Palestinians are eager to return to Gaza once a truce or the war comes to an end.
The text discusses the situation of Palestinians in Egypt who have been stranded due to the war in Gaza and the difficulties they face in obtaining legal documents due to rescinded equal rights rules.
The embassy has helped some return, but their efforts are complicated by a lack of resources.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have settled in Egypt after 1948, and they have experienced increasing difficulties in obtaining documents since the 1978 peace accord with Israel.
The Palestinian Authority, which governs the occupied West Bank with limited autonomy, is facing financial difficulties due to decreased international donor funding and Israel's withholding of tax revenues.
These challenges come as more than a million Gazans have sought refuge near the border with Egypt, increasing tensions and the risk of major Israeli incursions into Rafah.