Occupied Jerusalem – The crimes and violations of the Israeli occupation army in the Gaza Strip did not stop at destruction and killing. As the war continued, the phenomenon of the occupation army and soldiers stealing money, gold, and property from Gazans worth tens of millions of dollars expanded, which is considered a violation of international law, as this theft is included in the list of punishable financial crimes. Internationally.
This comes at a time when the Israeli army acknowledged that since the start of the ground invasion of the Gaza Strip on October 27, 2023, until this February, it has confiscated more than 220 million shekels ($60 million) from Gaza, under the pretext of “fighting terrorism.” In addition to seizing 200 million shekels ($54.3 million) from the Bank of Palestine.
With the beginning of the ground incursion, many reserve soldiers documented a series of videos while they were looting possessions and assets from Palestinian homes in the northern Gaza Strip, but the Israeli army quickly banned its soldiers from sharing such videos, which showed systematic looting and theft operations during raids on the homes of the people of Gaza.
Videos that the occupation soldiers shared on social media networks before the ban showed that the looting and theft occurred in several ways and methods, including storming homes that they asked their residents to leave, then looting them, as happened in Beit Lahia, and the soldiers at the checkpoints on Salah al-Din Street continued to steal the belongings and money of Gazans. Displaced people from the north of the Strip to the south.
The occupation’s ban on sharing videos of looting and theft of homes in the Gaza Strip indicates that the phenomenon of systematic theft of Gazans’ money is very widespread. However, the Israeli media has kept quiet about the phenomenon and refrained from highlighting the involvement of soldiers from the occupation army in the systematic theft of Palestinian money and property, including sums of money and jewelry. Gold, cell phones and laptop computers.
Systematic looting
In confirmation of the Israeli army’s systematic plunder of the funds and property of the people and institutions of Gaza, Maariv newspaper revealed this week that an Israeli special military force confiscated an amount of 200 million shekels ($54.3 million), after storming the Bank of Palestine branch in the Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City. .
The newspaper quoted army officers as saying, “Israeli soldiers who were conducting military operations in the Al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza risked their lives in order to seize hundreds of millions of shekels from the Bank of Palestine, which were allocated to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.”
According to army officials, the process of seizing the money took place during a military attack on the Al-Rimal neighborhood, after soldiers came under fire from a sniper in the vicinity of the bank. The Israeli force arrived at the bank and stormed it, while the soldiers themselves loaded the money onto “Brinks” vehicles. The money was not even transferred to the authority.
State Treasury
Last January, the Israeli army admitted to seizing sums of money worth 15 million shekels from Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip, during raids and raids on homes in the Gaza Strip, where they were transferred to the financial department of the Ministry of Security, and will be deposited in the state treasury, according to what was announced. Israeli Ministry.
Israeli Channel 12 reported that during the ground incursion, the “Spoils Transport Unit” affiliated with the Technology and Logistics Division of the Israeli army “confiscated funds seized in Hamas strongholds and areas where it is active, and in the homes of those wanted by the Israeli security services,” as it claimed. .
In early January, according to the Israeli channel, nearly a million dollars were also found, in addition to Iraqi, Jordanian, and Egyptian currencies, the value of which was not disclosed by the Israeli Ministry.
The Israeli channel reported that in one of the raids and incursions carried out by Israeli forces at the end of December 2023, bags containing millions of shekels were seized in the home of a senior Hamas leader, and another raid was carried out on a property owned by the family of the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh. Where valuable possessions were seized.
In early December 2023, the Israeli army seized an amount of 5 million shekels in cash, which was found in two bags in the home of a senior Hamas official in the Jabalia area. The identity of the senior official whose house was raided by Israeli forces was not revealed, according to what the website of the newspaper reported. Yedioth Ahronoth.
international law
Commenting on this, lawyer Muin Odeh, a specialist in international law and human rights, said, “What is happening in Gaza reflects the phenomenon practiced by the Israeli army and its soldiers by confiscating and stealing private Palestinian funds and transferring them to Israel under the pretext of combating terrorism, and that these funds are allocated to finance armed operations against Israel.”
The specialist in international law does not rule out that the occupation authorities will carry out their threats and storm more Palestinian banks in the Gaza Strip or even in the West Bank, recalling the occupation’s threats to Palestinian banks a while ago to storm them and impose sanctions on them unless they close the accounts of prisoners and families of martyrs who receive monthly allocations.
Odeh explained to Al Jazeera Net that the looting and robbery carried out by the occupation soldiers in the Gaza Strip comes as a continuation of their theft of money or jewelry during searches and raids into Palestinian cities and homes in the West Bank, where the stolen items go into the soldiers’ pockets without any accountability or accountability.
Odeh pointed out that international law guarantees protection for the civilian population who are under occupation, and this protection includes their money and property as well, and it does not stop with individuals, but rather includes private institutions and companies such as banks that fall within this protection, and the occupying force does not have the right to confiscate money and property.
Financial crimes
The international law specialist pointed out that Israel uses pretexts and arguments to circumvent international law and the violations and financial crimes it commits, by claiming that the confiscated funds are allocated to financing “terrorism,” without providing any evidence and proof for these allegations and claims.
It is believed that Israel is using the 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, and Security Council Resolution No. 1373 in this regard, as an excuse to confiscate any Palestinian funds, even though the agreement and the resolution are vague, and do not talk about an occupying force confiscating funds from parties protected by international law.
He concluded by saying, “International law requires the occupier to do everything possible to provide protection for individuals under occupation and to protect their lives and property as long as they do not participate in military operations. Accordingly, the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian banks must go to international courts to accuse Israel of carrying out financial crimes against it and demand the return of the funds.” And compensation for damage as well.”
