Israel Army's Cleverness Note Blocks the Return of Gaza Residents via Rafah
JAKARTA - The journey home of Palestinians to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border has turned into a process marked by interrogation, detention, and humiliating treatment by the Israelis.
In a number of cases, residents who were returning to Gaza also admitted that they were offered money not to return or asked to cooperate with the Israeli army, according to testimonies from residents and reports from local human rights organizations.
On Wednesday, the Gaza Government Media Office said only 488 of 1,800 travelers were able to cross Rafah in both directions since reopening until Tuesday (10/2), describing Israel's compliance as only about 27 percent of the established agreement.
Quoted from Anodalu, in his statement, the office said 275 people left Gaza and 213 people entered Gaza. A total of 26 travelers were denied permission to leave Gaza for Egypt in the same period.
Israel reopened the Palestinian side of the crossing on February 2 after closing it since May 2024, but the opening was very limited and with very strict conditions.
The violation is documented.
On February 5, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the occupied territories reported that residents who were returning to Gaza claimed that after crossing they were taken by armed Palestinians supported by the Israeli army, identified as members of the Abu Shabab militia, to an Israeli military checkpoint.
At the location, some of them were handcuffed, blindfolded, searched, threatened, and their personal belongings confiscated.
On the same day, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported that Israeli authorities allowed members of the Abu Shabab militia to participate in the examination of Palestinians entering and leaving Rafah.
A day later, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that Israel was secretly supporting armed militias in Gaza with funds, weapons, and field protection to fight Hamas, which operates in the area where Israeli forces are deployed under a ceasefire agreement.
According to the report, the Israeli army uses the militias for limited tactical tasks, including pursuit and arrest operations and the search for Hamas fighters in tunnels or among the rubble of buildings.
The UN Human Rights Office said residents who would return to Gaza described a pattern of violence, degrading interrogations, and body searches that violated privacy. In some cases, access to people in need of medical care was denied, including to the toilet, which led to severe humiliation.
A number of residents who will enter Gaza also admitted that they were asked if they were willing to accept money to return to Egypt with their families and never return to Gaza. Some were also offered money to become informants for the Israeli army.
Overall, the testimony showed a pattern of actions that violated the Palestinians' rights to personal security and dignity, as well as protection from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
The office warned that the reported practices raise serious concerns about coercive measures to prevent Palestinians from exercising their right to return to their original territory after being forced to flee, which could lead to ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
The head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Palestinian occupied territories, Ajith Sunghay, stated that the international community has a responsibility to ensure that all steps related to Gaza comply with international law and fully respect the human rights of Palestinians.
"After two years of destruction, their ability to return safely and with dignity to their families and to the location of the remains of their homes is the most fundamental thing," he said.
According to residents who will enter Gaza, the crossing process involves five stages, namely the Egyptian side, the Palestinian Authority, representatives of the European Union, militias operating with Israeli support, and the Israeli army.