An Israeli couple in their 30s say they were subjected to unusually invasive security searches while crossing into Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula through the Taba border crossing on Saturday, including alleged intimate touching and a full strip search.
The woman, identified only as S., told ynet that an Egyptian female security officer touched her groin, buttocks and chest shortly after she passed through a metal detector, before officers had even finished examining the couple’s luggage.
Couple alleges intimate touching, strip search during ‘extreme’ security check at Egypt border
Her partner, identified as O., was later taken behind a curtain for a separate search, where the couple says a male security officer touched his groin over his clothing. S. said she was then taken behind the same type of curtain and ordered to remove all of her clothes.
“It was a very traumatic experience,” she said.
According to S., the couple entered the crossing late Saturday night, when the terminal was nearly empty.
“We were the only ones going through security,” she said. “We put our bags through the scanner, and before they even came out, my partner went through the metal detector. I went through after him, and immediately afterward the woman working security started patting me down, before they had even seen what was in the bag or had any suspicion about anything.”
“She ran her hand over my groin, my buttocks and my chest,” S. said. “Those were mainly the places she touched, rather than other parts of my body.”
After officers discovered rolling papers in her partner’s luggage, she said, the inspection intensified.
“They started turning everything upside down. They smelled everything, checked everything. They completely emptied our bags.”
S. said her partner was then taken behind a curtain by a male security officer.
“He touched him in the groin over his clothes,” she said.
When O. emerged, S. said the female officer took her behind a curtain as well.
“It wasn’t a room, just a curtain,” she said. “She told me to take off my shirt. I wasn’t wearing a bra. Then she told me to take off my skirt. I was left in my underwear, and then she asked me to take that off too.”
S. said the officer did not speak English and communicated largely through gestures.
“I said, ‘What?’ and she said, ‘Yes, yes, take it off.’”
According to S., the officer then instructed her to spread her legs and conducted a visual inspection.
“She asked me to spread my legs and looked at me down there in a very invasive and disturbing way,” she said. “It felt like harassment, like she was enjoying it and smirking at me. It was very extreme. It was a very unpleasant experience. Mostly, I was just shocked.”
S. said she did not fully process what had happened until after the couple left the crossing.
“It was a very destabilizing experience,” she said. “Only when we got out of there did I understand that something wasn’t right. I felt terrible that I hadn’t said anything while it was happening.”
“I felt that what was happening wasn’t right and wasn’t legal. It didn’t make sense to me that this was happening, but I didn’t say anything at the time and didn’t ask questions. It happened very quickly, and I just wanted it to end so I could get out of there.”
She said the experience left her confused and shaken even after the couple continued their journey.
“We stopped at a gas station and bought a few things, and I paid much more than usual without even asking how much it cost,” she said.
The couple have traveled to Sinai before, S. said, but had never experienced anything similar at the crossing.
“We’ve been to Sinai before and never experienced this, not even anything close,” she said. “It won’t stop us from going back to Sinai, but I hope that by then I’ll understand whether this is legal and know how to respond if it happens again.”