"An Egypt firm is making $2m a day from Palestinians fleeing Israel's war on Gaza"

A company owned by an influential Egyptian businessman and ally of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is making around $2m a day from Palestinians fleeing Israel's war on Gaza, Middle East Eye can reveal.

Hala Consulting and Tourism Services, a firm owned by Sinai tribal leader and business tycoon Ibrahim al-Organi, has been charging Palestinians crossing from Gaza's Rafah to Egypt at least $5,000 per adult and $2,500 for children under 16.

It has a monopoly on providing transfer services at the Rafah crossing, the only Gaza exit not bordered with Israel and the single route out of the coastal enclave for Palestinians.

In the past three months alone, the company is estimated to have made a minimum of $118m, or 5.6 billion Egyptian pounds, from desperate Palestinians trying to leave war-torn Gaza...

MEE's analysis of the travellers list published online by Hala reveals that last month the company may have earned at least $58m from around 10,136 adults and 2,910 children who crossed the border via its "VIP list".

The daily average of $2m per day in April is roughly double what it is estimated to have earned daily in March...

The income earned by Hala and other Organi companies is not subject to any known oversight, and no public records are available to scrutinise where the money is spent or who benefits from it. 

Mohannad Sabry, an Egyptian writer and Sinai expert, said it is not surprising that the Egyptian state is not doing anything to stop Organi from taking advantage of Palestinians' desperation.

"Organi is a front for the state and military-owned businesses and their policies in Egypt. He is a cog in this dark, corrupt machine operating with impunity," he told MEE...

Organi is an ally of Egypt's president and military, and is widely considered the most influential tribal and business figure in the Sinai peninsula, Middle East Eye has previously reported...

Security services in early April detained activists who protested against Organi and his company profiting from vulnerable Palestinians.

Some have faced charges of “spreading fake news” and “collaborating with a terrorist group” as a result of taking part in the demonstrations...

In February, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry denied his government condoned the crossing transfer fees charged by Hala...

Yet, two months on, Hala continues to charge Palestinians fleeing the war prohibitive fees, which force many people to organise online funding campaigns to collect enough to reach safety. 

MEE has repeatedly asked Hala's parent company, the Organi Group, and the Egyptian government for comment, but had not received a response by the time of publication...

The Egyptian government controls the crossing in theory. But Israel, which is the occupier of the Gaza Strip under international law, imposes tight restrictions on the movement of people and goods through Rafah. 

Meanwhile, Organi's companies, like Hala, have garnered massive profits by charging people and trucks thousands of dollars to enter the strip, as well as exit...

In January, an international charity told MEE it was being forced to pay $5,000 a truck in the form of a “management fee” to a company affiliated with the Sons of Sinai, another firm owned by Organi, which controls the passage of commercial and aid trucks via Rafah.

The charity described the payment as a bribe, and accused the Egyptian state of profiteering from humanitarian aid.