Palestinian, Turkish ethnic mixture persists over times
Many Palestinians from Gaza are leaving the besieged enclave for Turkey in search of better living conditions.
Many Gaza Strip citizens have recently moved to Turkey in search of job opportunities and better living standards amid the deteriorating economic conditions in the besieged enclave.
The facilitations offered to obtain a Turkish visa and reside within Turkish territory make Turkey a top destination for Gazans.
Thousands of Palestinian families in Gaza have Turkish origins. Khaled al-Katib, a Palestinian citizen of Turkish origin, told Al-Monitor, “Our family originates from the Turkish city of Izmir. My grandfather, who was in the Ottoman army, was dispatched to Palestine where he settled and formed his own family. Decades later, I headed to Turkey to look up our family tree. Official papers showed that we are of Turkish origin. I applied for Turkish citizenship, and now I am in the process of obtaining it.”
He explained that “holding Turkish citizenship has many benefits such as free education and health care and the right to own property."
