- Euro-Med Monitor documents Israeli soldiers participating in the theft of assets and funds from Palestinians during ground operations in Gaza, including personal belongings and the destruction of homes.
- Testimonies and footage reveal potential looting worth millions, with the organization urging an international investigation into Israel’s actions and advocating for legal accountability.
The Geneva-based organisation has documented a series of instances wherein Israeli soldiers actively participated in and observed the theft of assets and funds from Palestinian civilians, encompassing items such as laptop computers, gold, and substantial sums of cash. Israel’s military has been engaged in ground operations in the Gaza Strip since October, involving home raids, incursions into residential areas, and arbitrary arrests of civilians.
According to Euro-Med Monitor’s collected testimonies, the Israeli army’s transgressions extend beyond arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and field executions. They encompass the deliberate destruction of property, theft of personal belongings, and the looting and burning of homes- a systematic strategy seemingly rooted in the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. Preliminary estimates from the testimonies suggest the potential looting of possessions worth tens of millions of dollars by the Israeli army, in addition to the theft of personal belongings from Palestinian civilians.
Thabet Salim, a 40-year-old Palestinian, recounted to Euro-Med Monitor that he and his sons were taken into custody by the Israeli army from their house, revealing that soldiers had plundered gold and cash amounting to more than $10,000. Salim, now released, expresses concern for the fate of his sons.
Umm Muhammad Gharbiyya from Al-Shuja’iya described how Israeli forces forcibly took her gold jewelry after violently entering her family’s house, resulting in the arrest of her husband and oldest son. Another resident, Hussein Al-Tanani, shared the aftermath of an Israeli army raid on their home, stealing a computer and significant amounts of cash while leaving chaos in their wake.
The testimonies align with reports from the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate’s “intelligence collection and technical spoils” unit, revealing the seizure of sums exceeding five million Israeli shekels. Euro-Med Monitor asserts that this reported amount is likely only a fraction of the unreported thefts by Israeli forces.
Notably, social media has circulated footage of Israeli soldiers personally selling stolen gold jewelry in a West Bank store, corroborating claims of misconduct. Israeli soldiers themselves have shared videos documenting the deliberate sabotage of civilian homes, spray-painting racist Zionist slogans, and boasting about seizing Palestinians’ money and possessions.
Alia Al-Najjar recognized her own gold jewelry in a soldier’s video, including a bracelet purchased with her first teaching salary. Another soldier flaunted a silver necklace marked “Made in Gaza,” pledging it to his girlfriend, while separate footage showed a soldier singing above the wreckage of demolished homes in the Gaza Strip.
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor calls for a comprehensive and impartial international investigation into Israel’s severe violations against Gaza residents and their property, urging the international community to take swift action for legal accountability.
