Gaza Women Talk about Abuse behind “Israeli” Bars

By Staff, Agencies

Nabela thought the United Nations school in Gaza City was a safe haven. Then, the “Israeli” army arrived.

Soldiers stormed the place, ordering men to undress and hauling women to a mosque for strip searches, she said. So began six weeks in “Israeli” custody that she says included repeated beatings and interrogations.

“The soldiers were very harsh, they beat us and screamed at us in Hebrew,” said the 39-year-old from Gaza City, who spoke on condition that her last name not be used for fear of being arrested again. “If we raised our heads or uttered any words, they beat us on the head.”

Palestinians detained by “Israeli” forces in Gaza talked about widespread physical abuse and neglect. It’s not known how many women or minors have been detained.

Nabela said she was shuttled between facilities inside “Israel” in a coed group before arriving at “Damon” Prison in the north, where she estimated there were at least 100 women.

Rights groups say "Israel" is “disappearing” Gaza Palestinians — detaining them without charge or trial and not disclosing to family or lawyers where they’re held. “Israel’s” prison service says all “basic rights required are fully applied by professionally trained prison guards.”

For Nabela, the interrogation process took 47 harrowing days.

Despite “Israeli” evacuation orders, Nabela and her family had decided not to leave Gaza City, believing nowhere in Gaza was safe. Troops entered the school where they sheltered on Dec. 24.

“I was terrified, imagining they wanted to execute us and bury us there,” she said.

Forces separated Nabela from her 13-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son and loaded her onto a truck bound for a facility in southern the entity.

“We were freezing and forced to remain on our knees on the ground,” Nabela told The Associated Press from a school-turned-shelter in Rafah where she’s staying with other recently released female detainees. “Loud music, shouting and intimidation — they wanted to humiliate us. We were handcuffed, blindfolded, and our feet were tied in chains.”

Moved between several prisons, Nabela said she was subjected to repeated strip searches and interrogations at gunpoint.

One woman detained from Gaza, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of another arrest, told the AP that during a medical check before she was moved to Damon Prison, “Israeli” forces ordered her to kiss an “Israeli” flag. When she refused, a soldier grabbed her by the hair, smashing her face into a wall, she said.

One, whose name was redacted, said he was urinated on by guards at “Ketziot” Prison in southern “Israel”, and witnessed strip searches where guards forced naked detainees to stand close to each other and inserted search devices into their buttocks.

Palestinian detainees also mentioned that adequate medical care was rare, even for those needing insulin or chemotherapy treatments.