CAIRO/GAZA: Palestinian women among the few people let back into Gaza after Israel’s delayed reopening of the Rafah crossing under last year’s ceasefire have described being blindfolded, handcuffed and interrogated by Israeli forces as they tried to get home.
Their journey from Egypt on Monday through the frontier post and across the “yellow line” zone controlled by Israel and an allied Palestinian militia group, involved lengthy delays and the confiscation of gifts including toys, one of the women said.
“It was a journey of horror, humiliation and oppression,” said 56-year-old Huda Abu Abed by phone from the tent her family is living in at Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Her account was supported by that of another woman Reuters interviewed, and by comments from a third woman interviewed on Arab television.
In response to a Reuters request for comment, Israel’s military denied its forces had acted inappropriately or mistreated Palestinians crossing into Gaza, without addressing the specific allegations made by the two women interviewed.
