Soldiers suspected of looting homes during operation
IDF forces search for tunnels used for smuggling arms near Khan Younis, but, according to seven Palestinian families, they leave with different kind of booty. Local residents report valuable gold jewels missing after soldiers stay in their houses. IDF Spokeson's Office: Only one complaint of this sort received
After operating a number of days east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces troops left the area. The IDF said that the operation was meant to locate tunnels through which the Palestinians are smuggling weapons with which to carry out attacks on Israeli targets.
Despite not finding even one such tunnel, local residents claim that the soldiers didn't leave empty-handed. At least seven Palestinian families claim that the soldiers looted jewelry and money from their houses.
Muhammad Abu-Dakka wasn't at home when IDF soldiers broke in by exploding the doors. He claims that after the soldiers left his house, he entered and found the words "dogs," "criminals," "murderers," "and other curses that I don't want to repeat" scrawled on the walls.
However, it turns out that this is actually the light damage. Like any Palestinian who hosted the army against his will, Abu-Dakka and his wife scoured the house to make sure everything was in its spot.
"The house was turned upside-down completely," he told, "but we started to look especially for the gold. In my mother's room we discovered that the gold in her jacket had disappeared. We found that some of my wife's clothes in which we had hidden gold were also missing."
According to Abu-Dakka, the missing gold was worth 3,000 Jordanian dinars (USD 4,234). "I don't know to whom to turn and I don't know how we will get that property back," he complained. "We have never received our rights from the Jews. It is simply barbaric crime. What is the connection between security and looting? First of all, they break into our house when no one is home, and after that they loot. This was an operation to reveal tunnels, this was an operation to loot."
In Abu-Dakka's estimation, jewelry is missing from at least eight of his neighbor's houses. He has yet to file a complaint with the Palestinian District Coordinating Office.
The engagement jewels are missing
One of the neighbors who was visited by IDF soldiers in Adnaan Abu-Dakka, who claims that soldiers entered his house on the night between Wednesday and Thursday and completely took over. According to him, "There were two groups 15 soldiers. But while almost all of them rested in the rooms, two soldiers were always awake wandering through the house and entered my and my wife's room and started to search the room."
Abu-Dakka claims that when the soldiers entered his room, they noticed a picture of Saddam Hussein on the wall. "They asked me, 'Who is that in the picture?' I answered, 'You don't know?' and when I told them it was Saddam Hussein, they spat on the picture," he relates. "After that, they took two cell phone batteries out of a box in the closet and asked me where the phones that the batteries belong to are."
According to Abu-Dakka, because of the shock of the event, he forgot that there was also gold jewelry in the box. "I couldn't even conceive that they would steal the gold, so I didn't think about it even when they showed me the batteries.
"After that, they took me to the detention camp in Kerem Shalom and when I returned home the next day I discovered that the soldiers had left and that the gold in the box had almost completely disappeared. They left us two simple earrings and a simple necklace, but took an expensive piece weighing 31 grams (1.085 ounces), another necklace weighing 30 grams (1.05 ounces), and six bracelets. The worth of all these jewels is about 3,200 Jordanian dinars (USD 4,516)."
Unlike his neighbor Muhammad, Adnaan is determined to take care of the matter. He has already filed a complaint with the District Coordinator's Office and claimed: "I don't intend to give up. If they do a line-up, I am positive I would identify the soldiers. I remember them because they spoke in a harsh, barbaric manner. And on top of everything else they broke into the refrigerator and took guavas and gave them out to their friends."
Abu-Dakka said that he planned on trading the gold that was allegedly stolen by the soldiers for new jewelry that would be gifts for his two sons' fiancés. "I don't have extra money for my children's engagements. I planned on trading my wife's gold, but now I already don't know what I'll do."
The Palestinians report that in another incident, one of the residents discovered that money and gold had gone missing in the house, but this was before all the soldiers had completely left the house. According to him, he approached the officer who had a conversation with his commanders.
A short while later, the officer entered the house with his soldiers and said, "Let's help you look." During the search, the neighbor was surprised to find the gold and money returned, albeit not to the same place.
The IDF Spokesperson's Office said in response: "The claims of the seven families who were looted in their homes are unknown to the IDF. Until now, only one complaint has been made about the aforementioned subject and at the end of the operation, the commander of the unit along with the homeowner scoured and checked the house and confirmed all their possessions were in place and that now damage of any sort was caused to him. If other complaints are received, they will be investigated and examined according to protocol."
