Palestinians of American origin File Legal Action for Emergency Exit from Gaza
In a troubling turn of events, a group of Palestinian-American plaintiffs, including Khalid Mourtaga and Salsabeel Elhelou, have been excluded from the final crossing list for the Rafah border crossing, despite U.S. Department of State authorization. This exclusion, according to reports, is due to bureaucratic and political obstacles at the Egyptian border crossing, which controls access to Gaza since Israel sealed the crossing in May 2024.
The Egyptian authorities, it seems, have exercised strict control and implemented rigorous documentation requirements at Rafah. Many Palestinians who attempted to cross faced rejections based on perceived inadequacy of paperwork or bureaucratic technicalities, denying them passage despite official U.S. clearance. This situation was further complicated by the fact that the Rafah crossing has been heavily managed by Egyptian border officials with restrictions influenced by political and security considerations, including coordination (and sometimes disputes) involving Israel and Egypt.
The ongoing conflict, closure of crossings, and the broader humanitarian crisis—such as Israeli military operations in Rafah, the sealing of the crossing by Israel in 2024, and the resulting complex political landscape—have contributed to the difficulty of evacuations, even for those approved to leave.
Attorney Maria Kari, representing the plaintiffs, has posited that the lawsuit is a last-ditch attempt to save her clients. She urged the Biden administration to act quickly, stating that the administration's refusal to treat Americans in Gaza the same as Americans in other conflict zones is part of its systemic dehumanization and delegitimization of Palestinian-American life and suffering. Kari also asserted that the administration's inaction could potentially lead to the death of the plaintiffs becoming its enduring legacy.
It's worth noting that the State Department appears to have provided departure assistance on cruise ships for Americans and their families wishing to depart Israel and come to the United States on 13 October. However, the plaintiffs' names were left off the agency's final crossing list for the Rafah border crossing, located along the Gaza-Egypt border.
The lawsuit filed against the Biden administration includes Khalid Mourtaga, Salsabeel Elhelou, Sahar Harara, Sawsan Kahil, Marowa Abusharia, Mohanad Alnajjar, Mariam Alrayes, Heba Enayeh, and Samia Abualreesh as plaintiffs. These individuals are either U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or immediate relatives.
The federal Department of State had authorized the evacuation of a coalition of Palestinian-Americans from Gaza earlier this year. Previously, there have been multiple U.S.-coordinated evacuations from Gaza. In one instance, the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, funded a flight to evacuate Floridians from Israel.
Kari emphasized that President-elect Donald Trump had pledged to bar refugees from Gaza and expand the Muslim travel ban during his first term. However, neither Trump's plans could legally bar the return of U.S. citizens to the United States.
While waiting to evacuate, the plaintiffs have suffered various horrors, including the risk of death from Israel bombardment or disease and starvation. The lawsuit provides instances of U.S. action, including evacuations from Afghanistan and Sudan, serving as a stark reminder of the help that U.S. citizens in distress have received in other conflict zones.
In conclusion, the exclusion of Palestinian-Americans from the final crossing list for the Rafah border crossing is not due to U.S. denial but rather the result of Egyptian border enforcement policies, stringent document scrutiny, and the fraught operational control of crossings like Rafah during the Gaza war, which together obstructed these individuals authorized for evacuation from actually crossing into Egypt and onward.
- The complications in evacuating Palestinian-Americans from the Gaza Strip, as illustrated by the case of Khalid Mourtaga and Salsabeel Elhelou, highlight the intersection of war-and-conflicts and politics, with policy-and-legislation playing a crucial role in their ability to leave.
- The ongoing legal battle between the plaintiffs, including Khalid Mourtaga and Salsabeel Elhelou, and the Biden administration underscores the significance of crime-and-justice issues, as they argue that the administration's inaction could lead to their potential deaths and constitutes a lack of general-news coverage of their plight.
