Comment by aprilthird2021

3 days ago

I went to school with some first generation Palestinians just 5-ish years ago.

One of them had to miss an entire quarter because Israel just wouldn't allow him to leave. He has never been back to Palestine since then because another detainment or missed visa problem, etc. would derail his career.

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aprilthird2021

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ignoramous  3 days ago

> One of them had to miss an entire quarter because Israel just wouldn't allow him to leave

Terrible.

Even in the current ceasefire terms, there's an explicit provision to have Israel agree to let the injured leave for treatment to neighbouring countries and be allowed to come back to the Strip.

Despite arguments to contrary, I can see why some claim it is an open-air prison.

  • exe34  3 days ago

    > and be allowed to come back

    Is it common to want to go back to prison?

    • ignoramous  3 days ago

      It is common for those seeking to engineer demographics to want to forcefully displace people.

      It is common for those who have dehumanised the other to take away their most basic rights, like freedom of movement.

      So yeah, super uncommon anywhere except in places like the tiny silver of land ruled by the most moral occupiers in the world.

  • dotancohen  3 days ago

    A UN delegate first referred to the Gaza strip as an open air prison in 1956, while still under Egyptian control.

    That aspect of Gaza was in place long before Israel had anything to do with the strip.

trimethylpurine  3 days ago

Some part of this doesn't make sense. He couldn't leave from Gaza or Egypt? Why would he have needed Israel's permission?

  • aprilthird2021  3 days ago

    I must admit I'm not an expert in how it works. And as friends we never really talked about the details of such things. But you can read about the procedures here: https://www.nrc.no/globalassets/pdf/legal-opinions/legal_mem...

    Based on that, he must have obtained a special permit to leave Palestine and fly to the US for higher education, but this had to be approved by Israel or he could not leave Palestine or transit through Ben Gurion Airport (remember the Palestinian's international airport was bombed into rubble a decade ago or so). One year they denied him for some Kafkaesque reason, I presume. By the time he sorted it out he had to arrange with the school to take a leave and start again the next quarter

    • trimethylpurine  3 days ago

      So... Why not blame Egypt? You can answer if you know, but the question is really meant as a shrug towards bias and a plea for education in geography.

      Egypt has an airport just west of Gaza. They have a visa exclusive program for Palestinians. And that's not new.

      So based on the story, if you presume Israel was Kafkaesque then you must also presume that Egypt was at least as Kafkaesque if he was unable to leave from there.

      Or worse... he was unwilling.

      And yet, the story is about Israel for some reason. I'd ask why, but I presume to know the answer. Again, this is a shrug towards bias.

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