Report: Palestinians Drown While Escaping Gaza

Thousands of Palestinians risk their lives at sea to escape Hamas rule. Palestinian corruption and failure are what push them to flee.

Dozens of Palestinians from Gaza have been wounded or killed while sailing to Europe and other Arab countries in an attempt to escape from Gaza, award-winning journalist Khaled Abu Toameh reported for Gatestone Institute. At least 500 Palestinians have gone missing in the past few weeks after the boats carrying them sank at sea.

They died while escaping with thousands of Gazans who would rather risk their lives at sea than live under the Hamas regime. They have left via tunnels between Gaza and the Sinai or by bribing their way through the crossing with Egypt. According to various reports, some 13,000 Palestinians have already fled the Gaza Strip this way.

Exploited by Hamas

Some reports have suggested that rival gangs deliberately sank the boats while fighting over the cash Palestinians are prepared to pay to leave the Gaza Strip, Abu-Toameh wrote.

Palestinians are referring to this phenomenon as their “Death Boats” scandal. They are said to have paid thousands of dollars to Hamas officials and Egyptian smugglers. Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad al-Malki announced the launching an inquiry into what he called the “tragedy at sea,” PalPress reported. Al-Malki claimed that each Palestinian paid $1,000 to Hamas personnel at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. Others have reportedly paid up to $5,000 on their way out.

Al-Malki said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have fallen victim to Hamas operatives and Egyptian gangsters who lured them with false promises.

Other reports from Gaza indicate that Hamas officials are providing the emigrants with forged visas and travel documents to enable them to enter Europe illegally.

Fleeing Corruption and No Future

Abu-Toameh stated that, according to Palestinian sources, the emigration wave began long before Operation Protective Edge, but the trend has witnessed a dramatic increase since the the fighting stopped.

“Hamas has failed to help the Palestinians ever since it came to power in 2007,” said Ahmed Bader, whose son managed to leave the Gaza Strip through a tunnel a week after the end of the fighting. “There is nothing for the young people to do in the Gaza Strip: no jobs, no entertainment and no security. Young men who graduate from universities cannot find work if they are not members of Hamas.”

Abu-Toameh described this situation as part of the broader failure of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas in fulfilling their duty toward their people.

“The two rival parties have failed to improve the living conditions of their people in the Gaza Strip,” Abu-Toameh wrote. “Instead of creating job opportunities for young men and women, Hamas and the PA have spent the past seven years fighting over money and power. Hamas and the PA are exchanging allegations and abuse while their people are being exploited emotionally and financially, then robbed, drowned and fed to sharks.”

The responsibility lies solely with the Palestinian leadership, said Abu-Toameh: “Many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have obviously lost their confidence in both [PA President Mahmoud] Abbas and Hamas. As the past few weeks have shown, hundreds, if not thousands, of Palestinians would rather risk their lives at sea than live under Palestinian governments and leaders whose only goal is to enrich their bank accounts.”

Author: United with Israel Staff
(With files from Gatestone Institute)