Two groups of Arabs from Egypt’s Gaza Strip, captured in Israeli waters, who said they were seeking refuge in Lebanon, were on route today to that Arab country after being released.
Six were Arab youths who said they left the Gaza Strip by boat two weeks ago. They were detained while trying to enter Jaffa harbor. They told Israeli police that life in the Gaza Strip was hard and that they were afraid they would be forced to join the new El Fatah commando group recently organized by Syria for infiltration attacks on Israeli settlements. A police boat towed them out of Israeli territorial waters so they could continue their journey to Lebanon.
The other group was made up of ten fishermen who were arrested when their boat went aground on a reef near a kibbutz. They were allowed to continue to Lebanon after claiming they also were refugees from the Gaza Strip.
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