Systematic thefts as a tactic of war by the Israeli army

Gaza (Quds News Network) – Aseel Abu Zayda, a 19-year-old Palestinian pharmacy student residing in the Falouja neighborhood of Jabalia in northern Gaza, found herself detached from the fiery rhetoric expected from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming speech. Her sole concern was the survival of what remained of her family after the bombing of her uncle’s house in Jabalia camp.

The tragic incident resulted in the loss of her brother, 16-year-old Mohammed, her cousin Shams Salem (13 years old), and her grandfather’s wife, 55-year-old Mariam Salem. Aseel, along with her younger brothers Abdullah (14 years old) and Osama (7 years old), survived with head injuries after being pulled from the rubble.

In a desperate attempt to escape the imminent Israeli airstrikes by air, sea, and land, Aseel, her sister Meis (9 years old), and their mother Khoulah (46 years old) followed the instructions broadcasted by Israeli aircraft. The family embarked on a southbound journey on November 22, along with dozens of other Palestinian families, hoping to reach Khan Yunis or Rafah via the Salah al-Din Road.

Upon reaching an Israeli army checkpoint near Gaza City, known locally as “Al-Halaba,” Aseel and her family faced a harsh reality. The two sisters were singled out, and Aseel’s desperate plea for mercy for her sister Meis, who was suffering from thalassemia, fell on deaf ears.

Instead, the Israeli soldiers released Meis and proceeded to handcuff Aseel after beating her. They then forcefully took her into a military jeep along with a bag deposited by her mother, containing 11 ounces of gold, two bracelets, and a sum of money.

Aseel recounted the ordeal, stating, “Here, the soldiers handcuffed me, covered my eyes with a white cloth, and then struggled to take the bag from me.” After being transported to an undisclosed temporary detention tent and enduring a rigorous interrogation, Aseel was moved, along with hundreds of other women, to Damon Prison in Haifa. In her possession were gold bracelets and money, but her mother’s bag was nowhere to be found.

Aseel spent 62 days in Damon Prison, during which the prison administration took her bracelets, placing them in a security box after she signed a receipt written in Hebrew. Upon her release, she inquired about the bag that was taken by the soldiers at the Gaza checkpoint. The response she received was that it did not enter the prison, leaving her without the savings her mother entrusted her with.

The story of Aseel Abu Zayda is not isolated; similar incidents occurred on November 22, 2023, affecting other Palestinian women like Nahal Al-Ghandour, a 40-year-old resident of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza. Israeli female soldiers confiscated approximately $550 from her during her arrest at a Gaza checkpoint.

Al-Ghandour affirmed that Israeli occupation forces arrested her at the checkpoint south of Gaza City, confiscating the sum of money she had with her. She elaborated, “I was transferred to Damon Prison, where they took five gold bracelets in my possession, documenting them on a sheet with the prison’s authorities.”

“Upon my release, they returned the bracelets to me, but I did not receive the monetary amount. I inquired with the prison administration about the money, and they claimed it never entered the prison, stating that I had no money with me,” she added.

The day following the arrest of Aseel and Nahal and the confiscation of some of their money, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an impassioned speech in Hebrew, addressing the ethics of his military.

He proclaimed, “Those who dare to accuse our soldiers of committing war crimes are saturated with hypocrisy and lies and possess not a shred of ethics. Our army is the most ethical in the world. The Israeli army does everything in its power to avoid harming those not involved in the war, and I call on civilians once again to head towards the safe zone in the southern Gaza Strip.”

In the city of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, which continues to face ground attacks by the Israeli occupation forces, Jaber Abu Sabha confirmed that Israeli soldiers invaded his home, ransacked it, and stole some of his personal belongings.

Abu Sabha told Al Jazeera, “After the withdrawal of the occupation forces from Khan Yunis camp in southern Gaza, I returned home to find some Hebrew words inside my bedroom. I discovered valuable perfumes missing, and internationally branded shaving machines I brought from Saudi Arabia during my pilgrimage.”

Amidst the looting of citizens’ homes, confiscation of women’s jewelry and money, the Israeli soldiers also shared a video on social media, showcasing them stealing beehives from a Palestinian farmer’s farm in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.