There is an Egyptian company owned by an entrepreneur very close to the president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi which earns 2 million euros a day on Palestinians fleeing the bombing of Gaza. This was revealed by an investigation by Middle East Eye signed by the “MME correspondent”, the title usually used by journalists working in dangerous regions where for security reasons it is impossible to reveal their identity.
For a hefty payment he offers passage to Palestinians who cross the border from Gaza to Rafah towards Egypt
Hala Consulting and Tourism Services is a company owned by the Sinai tribal leader and tycoon Ibrahim al-Organi (in the photo to the left of al-Sisi)which offers passage to Palestinians crossing the border from for a hefty payment Gaza to Rafah towards Egypt. Prices are $5,000 per adult and $2,500 for children under 16. Middle East Eye Hala writes that Consulting and Tourism Services has a monopoly on providing transfer services at the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only exit not bordering Israel and the only route out of the coastal enclave for Palestinians. In the past three months alone, the company is estimated to have earned at least $118 million, equivalent to 5.6 billion Egyptian pounds, from desperate Palestinians trying to leave war-torn Gaza
Middle East Eye’s investigation reveals that Hala Consulting and Tourism Services is close to Egyptian President al-Sisi
Despite the attention of the international media that had already focused on Hala Consulting in recent months, the company doubled its profits in the month of April, with an average daily rate that exceeded 2 million dollars. MEE’s analysis of the traveler list published online by Hala reveals that the company may have made at least some profit last month $58 million from approximately 10,136 adults and 2,910 children who crossed the border via his “VIP list”. It is estimated that the agency’s revenues doubled in April compared to the previous month.
Before the war, Hala charged everyone who left Gaza through the Rafah crossing $350 per person, but since then the price has increased about 14 times. Based on traveler lists published since February 2, MEE can reveal that Hala’s profits from Palestinians may have been at least $21 million in February, $38.5 million in March and $58 million in April. The count is based on 23 lists published in February, 30 in March and 30 in April.
