By SAMMY JULIAN
Manila News Bureau Chief
MANILA — Three Filipino families composed of 11 individuals from Gaza have expressed intent to be repatriated amid the escalating situation in the Israel-Palestinian border, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has reported.
DFA spokesperson Charles Jose said the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv is tasked to move the Filipinos out of Gaza, while its embassy in Amman, Jordan, will receive them and facilitate their transit before their return to the Philippines.
From Gaza, the Filipino repatriates will be transiting via Israel and then from Israel to Jordan, Jose said. Along the way, the United Nations will provide transportation and escorts to the repatriates.
“From Gaza, they will actually be extracted by the United Nations along with 700 other foreign nationals,” he said. “They will then be brought to the border with Israel and from there our embassy in Tel Aviv will meet them and they will be brought to the border with Jordan and from there our embassy in Amman will take care of them.”
“So a lot will depend whether or not they will be allowed to enter Israel in the first place before they can transit to Jordan then from Jordan to the Philippines,” he added.
Jose expressed optimism that as far as travel documents are concerned, the Filipino repatriates should be allowed to pass the border because they are holding Philippine passports.
From Jordan, if the Filipinos decide to fly back to the Philippines the repatriation cost will be assumed by the Philippine government, he said.
Crisis Alert Level 3 (Voluntary Repatriation) was raised by DFA over Gaza Strip on Sunday in view of the growing threats to security posed by the Israel-Hamas conflict to Filipinos there.
Meanwhile, Alert Level 1 (Precautionary Phase) remains raised in the West Bank and in southern and central Israel. Filipinos in these areas are advised to take the necessary precautions.
Jose said the Philippine Embassy in Cairo and Tel Aviv are actively monitoring the condition of the Filipinos in Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Based on DFA data, there are about 109 Filipinos in Gaza, 116 in West Bank, and some 34,000 Filipinos all over Israel.
So far, Jose said, they have not received reports of any Filipinos harmed or killed as a result of the conflict.
He said the embassy already has a list of Filipinos in Gaza Strip.
“These Filipinos are either married to Palestinians or children of Filipinos married to Palestinian husbands and holding Philippine passports,” he said in a media briefing at the DFA headquarters in Pasay City.
So far, Jose said, the embassy got in touch with about 100 Filipinos, majority of them opting to stay because of family consideration./PN
