Government spokesman Ibrahim Milhem said today that the first batch of Palestinians who have gone stranded in Egypt due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic will be admitted to Palestine on the 21st of June.
Speaking at a press conference in Ramallah, he said a total of 1500 Palestinians in Egypt will be gradually evacuated in groups of 160 to Jordan via Egyptian aircraft, before they are immediately bused to the Karama border crossing (Allenby Bridge), on Palestine-Jordan border, for admission to Palestine.
Milhem pointed out that arrangements with Jordan and other neighboring countries are currently underway to secure the return of around 6500 Palestinians who have been stranded in many countries due to the pandemic.
He said the names of the Palestinians stranded abroad were submitted to the Jordanian government to ensure their safe and rapid evacuation to their home country.
Meanwhile, Milhem said a plane carrying 160 stranded Palestinian passengers will be admitted to Jordan on a daily basis, after neighboring Jordan agreed to open its airspace and borders to evacuate the stranded Palestinian students and citizens, and after all the technical and logistical arrangements were met to ensure a safe return of the passengers.
He thanked the governments of Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey for cooperating with the Palestinian government in this regard and for facilitating the return of the Palestinian nationals stranded as a result of the pandemic.
The spokesman added that Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad al-Maliki has been following up with the neighboring countries and all the relevant parties on the issue of the stranded to secure their return to the homeland.