12 Nepalis in Israel out of contact: Minister Saud

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Oct. 9: Foreign Minister NP Saud has informed the Federal Parliament that some of the Nepalis in Israel have been suspected to have been casualties. According to him, some of the students who went to study in Israel had been suspected to have been casualties while others got injured on terrorist attack.

Informing the House about the attack by the Palestinian Hamas on Israel, Minister Saud said that the entire government mechanism was mobilized to ascertain the situation of Nepalis there. “We are committed to rescue our citizens there,” he added.

The Minister said there are some 4,500 Nepali working as care givers and 265 students studying under ‘Learn and earn’ programme in Israel.

“119 students went from Agriculture University, 97 from TU and 49 from Sudurpaschim University for the study,” he said, adding that out of 49 students who went from Sudurpaschim University, 17 are studying in Kibbutz Alubim, Southern Israel near Gaza. 

He further said there was a serious attack by the Hamas on this place where some Nepalis out of the 17 were suspected of being casualty. “ A couple of students confirmed that they are safe, while three injured are being treated in a local hospital,” he said. 

Minister Saud said rest of the twelve students were still out of contact. “They may have been casualties,” he added. Foreign Minister Saud also said the entire mechanism was activated to ascertain their situation.

Foreign Minister Saud also informed the House that a mechanism was established on Sunday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to get information about the situation in Israel and to take decisions on issues including the rescue of Nepalis. 

He said a committee chaired by Prime Minister Dahal had been established under the coordination of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, including all relevant agencies. “This mechanism will continuously monitor the incident and assess the overall situation and take the necessary decisions for rescuing,” he said. 

Padam Giri, chief whip of the main opposition CPN-UML, suggested that the Prime Minister should take initiative to protect the lives of Nepalis in Israel. He said Prime Minister Dahal should directly talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Giri said the situation is serious and the government cannot stay just by issuing statements. He said the issue of life protection of Nepalis in Israel should be raised in the United Nations as well.