Oct 11, 2023. Posted by Balkan
Periscope - Hellas
Athens
As Israel steps up its siege of Gaza and the likelihood of a
prolonged conflict grows, Greece is bracing for a new influx of illegal
migrants. The country's top migration official warns the latest violence will
add to a surge of migrants that U.N. data say is already led by Palestinians.
Greek migration minister Dimitris Keridis warned that even before the outbreak of hostilities between Hamas and Israel, Greece had already been facing the biggest surge in illegal migrant inflows in recent years.
Keridis said, "as if the multitude of flashpoints in northern Africa
and Syria were not pushing thousands of migrants and refugees to Europe
already, now this."
The minister warned that escalating violence in the Middle East is likely
add to migration pressure to Greece and the European Union as a whole,
especially, he said, if Iran gets involved in the crisis and tensions boil over
in Lebanon, Egypt, and Libya.
Like Italy and Spain, Greece has faced rising migrant inflows.
This year it has already counted more than double the 18,780 illegal
entries authorities recorded for all of 2022.
FILE - Migrants disembark from a Greek coast vessel after a rescue operation, at the port of Mytilene, on the northeastern Aegean Sea island of Lesbos, Greece, Aug. 28, 2023.
United Nations data show Palestinians dominate the surge, seeking illegal
corridors of entry to Europe, through Turkey, Egypt or Libya. The massive
departure of Palestinians from their homeland has largely been driven by a
spate of violence in the West Bank over the last several months.
The data also show that Palestinians account for 22 percent of illegal
entries to Greece, followed by Afghans, Somalis and Syrians.
Speaking to a local broadcaster, Keridis said Greece remains vigilant, but
didn't specify what added measures his government is considering to further
protect its borders.
Keridis warned that migration pressures would increase significantly if
growing violence after Hamas' attack in Gaza leads to a protracted conflict, as
many are predicting.
Palestinians walk amid the rubble following Israeli airstrikes that razed swaths of a neighborhood in Gaza City, Oct. 10, 2023.
He said that even if Israel succeeds in its bid to regain control of Gaza,
reseal its borders from Hamas intruders and wipe out the terrorist organization
entirely, migration flows will not ease.
There is no doubt, he said, that the imminent goal is for Israel to counter
Hamas and arrest those responsible for the recent attacks. But that, the
minister said, will not ease illegal migration. He said a military option must
be coupled with a deal to resolve the Palestinian crisis because left unsolved,
or without some framework of a settlement, crises of this type will continue
erupting.
This week, Greece joined forces with Cyprus, Italy, Malta and Spain in
demanding more funding from the European Union to deal with rising illegal
migration. The five countries also urged Brussels to adopt sanctions on states
that do not take back illegal migrants.
EU leaders who met in Granada, Spain, on October 6 were fiercely divided in
their efforts to draft a common position.
Voice of America
--