Palestinians buying their way out of Gaza – if they can afford it

(NewsNation) — It’s not a new practice. But since Oct. 7, the business of getting Palestinians out of Gaza and into Egypt has become a very big business.

A loose network of travel agents and fixers have fast-tracked passage through Rafah at price that depends on the customer’s ethnicity: $1,200 for Egyptians, $3,000 for most foreigners and as much as $7,000 for Palestinians.

Doing the best business these days is an Egypt-based company called Hala Consulting and Tourism Services, which charges $5,000 for a Palestinian adult and $2,500 per child to exit Gaza.

Journalists looking at Hala haven’t been able to fully document how it’s done. But many Palestinians who’ve used it say the only way to access the company is for someone in Egypt to visit its office in Cairo to register. And potential customers must be in cash – American dollars.

Once the payment is made, customers must monitor Hala’s social media accounts to see when their names come up for approval. And even then, it’s not permanent asylum. It’s a visa to visit Egypt for up to one year.

Other companies are in the same business, but not all are legitimate. Some Palestinians say they were scammed by agents and lost their money.

Hala’s has ties to Egypt’s security service, which controls the border with Gaza. For years, human rights groups have accused Egyptian border agents of taking bribes to allow crossings.

Egypt has denied that bribery or extortion takes place at the border.

One reason that Egypt allows the practice: it’s a way to weed out poor immigrants. Haisam Hassanein, an Egyptian-American expert on the Middle East at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, tells USA Today that Hala’s service is “an exclusive one for those who have the money. Egypt is interested only in Gazans who have the cash and are going to benefit its economy.”

He says the evidence that it’s working is the number of Gazans who are opening up cafes and restaurants in Cairo and other Egyptian cities.