‘Israel’ to compensate Jewish migrants whose babies were stolen, given to western Jewish families

Occupied Palestine (QNN)- The Israeli authorities on Monday said it will compensate families in the ‘stolen babies’ case, which followed the Nakba and the creation of the occupation state.

For decades, families of stolen babies, mainly Jewish Yemenite and Arab families, and others from Balkan nations, have been arguing that several thousand babies were taken in the years after the creation of the occupation state.

They allege the babies were stolen and given to Jewish families of Western origin in the occupation state and even abroad, mainly those who could not have children themselves.

A statement by the occupation state expressed “regret over the events that occurred in the early days of the state and recognizes the suffering of the families whose children were part of this painful affair.”

“The time has come for the families whose infants were taken from them to receive recognition by the State and Government of Israel, and financial compensation as well,” Netanyahu said.

Yemenite activists have charged that hundreds of babies declared dead by doctors were actually abducted for adoption by Jewish couples of European origin.

They say the babies went missing from camps set up to host Yemenites and Jews arriving from other Arab countries in the early 1950s.

Doctors at the camps told them their children had died, but refused to hand over bodies or death certificates, according to the families.

The Israeli government approved a total of 162 million shekels ($50 million) in compensation.

The case has put a spotlight on intra-Jewish racism, with Jews of European origin traditionally held up as the elite of the occupation state and those from elsewhere alleging discrimination.