Israeli forces looting Gaza homes en masse: Israeli media
4 Min Read
IOF members have attempted to justify the thefts by citing that homes in Gaza are already destroyed, making it easier for troops to loot items.
-
A member of the Israeli occupation forces stands in a ransacked apartment during the attack on the Gaza Strip (AP)
According to the Israeli publication 972mag, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have come out and blatantly described that looting Palestinian homes is now routine behavior in Gaza.
The IOF has not hesitated to broadcast itself on social media cheerfully damaging buildings and humiliating Palestinian prisoners. Some of these videos were even included in South Africa's presentation to the International Court of Justice last month as proof of genocide.
In November, Palestinian singer Hamada Nasrallah was taken aback when he saw a TikTok video of an IOF member playing the guitar his father had gifted him. Footage shows IOF gloating about finding watches, unwrapping collections of soccer jerseys, and stealing other items.
In December, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reported that the IOF not only authorized its soldiers in the Gaza Strip to engage in killings but also to partake in thug-like property theft and looting during raids on Palestinian civilian homes.
Read more: IOF admit to excavating Gaza graves amid organ theft accusations
Euro-Med Monitor highlighted several instances where Israeli soldiers were involved in or witnessed the intentional theft of assets and money from Palestinian civilians, including items such as laptops, jewelry, and substantial amounts of cash.
Israeli soldiers looting Palestinian belongings during ‘military operations’ in Gaza incl gold, antiques, money, mobile phones, & laptops worth tens of millions of dollars, then publishing the crimes on social media
— ♡ ✦ Ᾰnnie ✦ ♡ (@Betelgeuse100) December 29, 2023
Via @EuroMedHRAr https://t.co/EBRo9duKOLpic.twitter.com/Iguv0iCiNJ
According to Maariv, the IOF also stole 54.29 million dollars from the Bank of Palestine in its Gaza headquarters, after storming it last week.
Rabbis and religious leaders have even issued decrees on what is permissible to steal from Palestinians according to Jewish law.
'Commanders see, nobody cares'
+972 Magazine and Local Call reported that Israeli commanders are allowing the behavior, with one member admitting he took a "souvenir" from a medical center the IOF raided, detailing that “People took things — mugs, books, each one the souvenir that does it for him.”
Another member told the publication that “Everyone knows that people are taking things. It’s considered funny," adding that it was far from being secret.
The IOF member attempted to justify the actions by citing the already destroyed homes making it easier for troops to loot items. Another reported that even senior commanders were engaged in the behavior.
Another reported that even the Muslim holy Book, the Quran, was looted with prayer beads, citing that IOF troops felt they were "the lords of that land," and that "whatever is easy and accessible is taken."
In a recent broadcast on the Israeli Kan channel, IOF members showed reporter Uri Levy a mirror looted from Gaza. "From the ruins of Khan Younis, in the classic Gazan style," Levy quips, not asking the troops where they obtained the mirror or why they took it.
The soldiers of the Zionist entity are a group of stupid thieves, and here they are recording themselves trying to break into a safe in the home of a civilian Palestinian family in Gaza.
— د. جمال الملا (@DrJamal11) January 16, 2024
Their principle is the same: “If I don’t steal it, someone else will steal it.”
Because they… pic.twitter.com/2c5ixZSrgo
In a Channel 13 report early this month, presenters victimized the IOF commenting on the fact that such footage was being used to "shame" them, rather than worry about the looting and the implications for displaced Palestinians with destroyed homes.
According to one Rabbi, Shmuel Eliyahu of Safed, since “Arabs in Gaza do not observe international conventions, we are not obliged to abide by any of the rules of war."
Last week, Israeli news website i24news reported citing sources from the IOF that an invasion of Gaza's Central Bank led to the discovery of one billion shekels stored in 12 different safes. Without providing any credible evidence, the report states that Israeli security sources deemed the money belonged to Hamas and confiscated the funds.
In a recent Haaretz report, IOF bragged about the many ingredients and spices they found in Palestinian homes that they used.
Delusionally thinking he was at culinary school rather than in a brutal invasion, one IOF member stated that every house had olives and olive oil in it, citing that it "helps a lot to upgrade any food. They also have a great spicy sauce. "
Another expressed that he came across a "carob sauce" that he used on food to make it "Excellent."
Another Rabbi reportedly told IOF members that they need not adhere to the laws of Kosher food while invading homes in Gaza. "If you find food that you don’t have, and you want that food, even if it’s not essential, say sweets … it’s permitted to eat them without worrying whether it’s kosher or not.”
