JERUSALEM, OCT. 25, 2000, (ZENIT.org).- Since the outbreak of violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, hundreds of Christian Arab families have left with the assistance of the Foreign Ministry and foreign embassies, such as those of England, Canada, and Cyprus, a government spokesman said, the Jerusalem Post reported today.
In some cases, embassies sent cars to pick up the families from their homes in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Gaza, Nablus and Tulkarm, granting passports to spouses and grandparents and offering financial assistance or air tickets to leave Israel, said Shlomo Dror, spokesman for the coordinator of activities in the territories, according to the Post.
In many cases the embassies eased restrictions and granted passports where only one of the couples had citizenship, to assist in their departure, the newspaper said. A small number of those seeking to leave were Moslems, he added, the Post said.
"Lately the number of requests has subsided; Those left don't have foreign citizenship, but all those able to have left," said Dror. He recalled the speech made by a Moslem preacher in a Gaza mosque after prayers on a recent Friday, in which he called on Palestinians to attack Israelis and Christians. Shortly afterward, a group of Christians was attacked in Gaza, he said.
Zenit - The World Seen From Rome
25. oktober 2000