Testimonies from women returning from Egypt to the Gaza Strip revealed that they were subjected to a series of violations by agents of the Israeli occupation during their return journey through the Rafah land crossing, including theft and psychological abuse.Several returnees recount that members of the armed militias affiliated with the occupation deliberately misled returnees by intimidating them with the threat of the Israeli occupation confiscating their personal belongings, which led them to voluntarily hand over their valuable possessions in some cases.The returnees spoke of being subjected to verbal abuse and harsh treatment by the occupation’s agents, amid an atmosphere of threats and intimidation, which increased their psychological suffering, after a difficult journey of treatment or displacement in Egypt.One of the returnees reports that she was forced to hand over a full bag containing clothes and valuables after being told that the occupation would confiscate them, on the condition that they would be returned later, which did not happen.These testimonies coincide with other reports that stated that the Rafah crossing is no longer just a crossing point, but has become an arena for harsh procedures and systematic violations against returnees, including investigations, humiliation, and severe restrictions.
Insult and theftUmm Musab Nabhan told Safa News Agency the details of her suffering during her return to Gaza, saying: “She brought in her bag gifts that she had brought for her children and belongings that some residents in Egypt had sent to their families, but one of the collaborators with the occupation asked her to keep them, claiming that the occupation forces were confiscating them, and he promised to return them to her after she passed the Israeli checkpoint, which did not happen.”She adds, “What prompted me to hand over my bag was the great fear that elements of the occupation’s agents instilled in us, and what they told us about the occupation forces confiscating everything.”She continued, “The officer told me that what the Jewish authorities had passed on to us was being revealed, claiming that they knew everything.””They were exaggerating the inspection process at the Israeli checkpoint and telling us things that didn’t happen,” Nabhan says.She adds: “No matter what the occupation does and what crimes it commits, it remains an occupation that has no religion or creed. As for these mercenaries, they steal and abuse their mothers and sisters without mercy or compassion.”
Horror and fearAs for Hala “Um Muhammad”, she also confirms that she was subjected to theft and verbal abuse by agents of the occupation in the southern Gaza Strip.“Um Muhammad” told Safa News Agency: “The occupation agents stole two gold rings and an electronic watch that she had bought as a gift for her daughters and son, after a treatment journey that lasted for more than two years.”She adds, “What prompted me to hand over the two rings and the electronic wristwatch was the state of terror and fear that an element affiliated with Abu Shabab created for me, as he told me, ‘Be careful, the Israelis will take the two rings and the electronic watch from you in a little while at the inspection device,’ so I was afraid and gave them to him on a promise he made to return them to me later, but that did not happen.”It indicates that these elements cooperating with the occupation interfere in the inspection of travelers’ belongings inside the Rafah crossing.She continued, “When the authorities searched my bag without scattering its contents, an armed militia member intervened and told him: ‘That’s not how you search,’ and he took out all the contents of the bag and searched it piece by piece.”She added: “They treated us in a crude manner, as one of the members shouted in our faces and told us: ‘Whoever raises her phone and takes pictures, I will break it and hit her head with it,’ and he threatened to kill us if we spoke to the media about what they were doing.”The proceeds from the Rafah crossing in Gaza go to the collaborators of the occupation.
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