Gazan people request Gaza's historical title deeds from Turkey

GAZA (A.A) - November 24, 2011 - A high ranking official at the Ministry of Interior of the Gazan administration, Riyad Zeytuni, said Thursday that they requested the historical title deeds of Gaza and population records from the Ottoman era from Turkey but that they did not receive them. Speaking to the AA, Zeytuni said that they asked for help from Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the title deeds and population records. Our records were completely destroyed during the war of 2008-2009. Israel refused to give us copies of the records, Zeytuni said. The only documents remaining from the Ottoman era are in Turkey. Last May, we visited Ankara and Istanbul and requested copies of documents on Gaza during the Ottoman era, Zeytuni said. Documents such as title deeds, birth and death records are crucial for us. Such documents prove our past and show where we came from, Zeytuni said. -"We have found out where we came from in Turkish documents"- Pointing out that Gaza is situated on an ancient trade route, Zeytuni said that many foreigners settled in Gaza and married locals. Some of those who settled here were Ottoman Turks, Zeytuni said. During our trip in Turkey, we were able to see some of the records and title deeds. We have found some of the names we were seeking in those records. The records indicate where the persons came from. We requested copies of the records from our Turkish brothers. Some of the documents we saw were written in Arabic language, Zeytuni said. Some of the documents showed the names of individuals working in various mosques and their salaries, Zeytuni said. Nonetheless, we could not obtain copies of the records in Turkey. We were told to apply to Turkish authorities via the Palestinian Embassy in Ankara, Zeytuni said. -Call to Gul and Erdogan- Stressing that Palestine was never independent and that Palestine was under control of various states at different times, Zeytuni said that they never had their own archives. We request from Premier Erdogan to help us in obtaining copies of the title deeds, birth and death records. We need the documents so we can discover our roots. We request from President Gul to help us in obtaining the records. These records could be beneficial only in Palestine. The documents are about us, Zeytuni said. -Ottomans ruled for 4 centuries- Since 2007, Gaza has been administered by Hamas, as an independent entity from the Ramallah administration in the West Bank. Since there are problems between the two administrations, they can not cooperate on many issues. The Palestinian Embassy in Ankara represents the Ramallah administration. Gaza is one of the oldest cities in the world. The history of residents in Gaza go back 5,000 years. In the year 635, Islamic troops conquered Gaza, a city which was formerly under the rule of Egyptians, Romans and the Byzantium Empire. Gaza was taken under the Ottoman Turkish rule in 1516 during Yavuz Sultan Selim's trip to Egypt. The Ottomans had to withdraw from Gaza on November 7, 1917. Gaza later was ruled by the British. Gaza was taken under Egyptian rule after the Arab-Israel War of 1948. Following the 1967 war, Gaza came under the rule of Israel. Israeli troops withdrew from Gaza following the Oslo Peace Treaty. Once Israeli settlements ended, Gaza came under the control of Palestine. As soon as Hamas came to power in Gaza, a land, air and sea blockade was applied. More than 1,000 Gazans lost their lives during the 2008-2009 war.