Bedoeinen in Negevstad Rahat waarschuwen voor illegale Palestijnen

 

De geschatte 4.000 illegale Palestijnen die in Rahat leven vormen bijna 10% van de bevolking. Het is opmerkelijk dat ze schijnbaar zonder al te veel problemen Israël binnen zijn gekomen. Het verhaal van de schoenenverkoper die elke week vanuit 'openluchtgevangenis' Gaza naar Rahat zou reizen lijkt haast ongeloofwaardig.

 

De illegale migranten vormen onwelkome concurrentie op de arbeidsmarkt, die nogal belabberd is in de meest Bedoeinensteden, maar ze zijn voor Israël vooral een veiligheidsrisico. De Bedoeinen waarschuwen dat er ook terroristen tussen zitten.

 

Wouter

______________

Last update - 04:23 07/10/2008

Bedouins in Negev town decry Palestinian influx

 

By Haaretz Staff
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027038.html

 

 

The Bedouin living in the Negev town of Rahat are worried by the influx of 4,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip who are living there illegally, Rahat's mayor said this week.

 

"The residents are worried," Talal al-Karnawi said. "One of the illegal residents could plan a terror attack, and from here he could reach any place in the country."

 

Over the last few years, the Bedouin town has become home to thousands of illegal residents from Gaza, Hebron, Bethlehem and Nablus. Many have taken the jobs of Bedouin residents and taken over commerce in the city.
 
But the greatest concern of the residents and mayor is that an illegal resident will turn out to be a terrorist whose actions tarnish Rahat and Bedouin in Israel.

 

"There are quite a few resident complaints about illegal residents involved in crime and theft," said al-Karnawi. "Some of the illegal residents come to provide for their families in a dignified way, but there are some youths who wander around the city and are involved in crime."

 

The mayor said he thinks the illegal Palestinians feel more secure not just in Rahat, but in any Israeli town where Arabs live. "They're simply looking for a city of refuge," he said.

 

Rahat resident Salam al-Hoziel has been speaking out about the illegal-resident phenomenon for a long time, and recently even sent letters on the matter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Public Security Minister Avi Dichter. The day is not far when that terror attack somewhere in Israel comes, he warns.

 

"They wander around the city, no one knows how many there are, where they come from or what they do at night," he said. "I am warning the State of Israel about their presence in Rahat."

 

According to Abu Sharib Diab, another resident: "I think the state needs to build them houses or tents and place a guard at the entrance. There are terrorists among the illegal residents, and we're scared they'll sully the name of Rahat."

 

But Rahat residents aren't concerned solely by the possibility of terrorism. Businessmen in the town say they have suffered heavy losses recently because the illegal residents smuggle goods into Rahat, damaging the economy.

 

"Some of the illegal residents deal with trade, and they are bothering us," said Sami Gafar, who owns a shoe stall in Rahat. "The police know, but aren't cleaning out the city. They sell things on the cheap and destroy my livelihood."

 

Next to Rahat's market stalls sits Abed, an illegal resident who travels to the Bedouin town from Gaza every week to sell shoes. He said he makes NIS 150 a day and sends the money to his family to help ease their financial woes. Then there is Issa, an illegal resident from Hebron who has been selling toys in the Rahat market for more than six years.

 

Authorities blame Rahat residents who take advantage of the illegal residents, pay them slave wages and form business connections with them, which leads them to stay.