Occupation checkpoints prevent thousands of displaced people from returning to northern Gaza

Thousands of displaced Palestinians found themselves facing a new obstacle after dismantling their fragile cloth and plastic tents in preparation for returning to their homes, or what remains of them in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the requirements of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, as the Israeli occupation army continues to close the Netzarim checkpoint and the Salah al-Din checkpoint, which are the two main outlets for access to the Gaza and northern governorates.

The Civil Defense in Gaza reported yesterday, Sunday, that Israel prevented tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians from returning from the south of the Strip to its north. Since the evening hours of Saturday, hundreds of displaced people have gathered at the nearest point to the "Netzarim" checkpoint, in preparation for entering the north of the Strip.

The occupation claims that its decision to allow the return of the displaced to the north is linked to the release of the Palestinian resistance of the detainee Arbel Yehud, while Hamas confirmed that it sent the mediators a video clip showing that the soldier is still alive, and that she will be among those released next Saturday, and accused the occupation of procrastinating in implementing the agreement.

In the areas where displaced people who want to return to the north gather, frustration is evident on their faces, as they suffer from harsh conditions due to being forced to sleep in the street in the bitter cold, in an area that lacks basic services. Medical sources revealed that 5 displaced Palestinians, including a child, who are waiting to be allowed to return to Gaza City from the “Taba al-Nuwairi” area west of the Nuseirat camp, were injured as a result of Israeli gunfire.

Areas near closed checkpoints have become crowded gathering points, suffering from water and food shortages, and relief teams are facing difficulties in reaching those in need due to severe overcrowding and restrictions on movement.

Palestinian Umm Sami Al-Khalidi, who is stuck at the western entrance to the Nuseirat area in the central Gaza Strip, says that her husband dismantled the tent that was housing her family members, and she helped him collect important items after the Israeli female soldiers were handed over, and the displaced were allowed to return on foot via Al-Bahr Street without inspection, and via Salah Al-Din Street according to a vehicle inspection mechanism. However, they were shocked by the occupation army’s obstruction of their return, and its linking the opening of the crossings to the release of the detained Israeli woman.

Al-Khalidi explained to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, “The checkpoint is still closed, and the soldiers refuse to allow the displaced people to enter under the pretext that they are waiting for the prisoner to be handed over, while the occupation forces open fire from time to time to prevent anyone from approaching. The new situation is extremely harsh, as we remain in the open in the very cold weather, and there are no necessities of life. We wait in the open, and we do not know how long?”

The displaced Palestinian, Anwar Al-Salhi, points out that he feels stuck between heaven and earth, indicating that he got rid of his tent and all the requirements of displacement, after the start of the delivery of the second batch of the exchange deal, which stipulates allowing the return of the displaced, and he headed with his family on foot to the outskirts of Al-Nuseirat, to the area near the Netzarim checkpoint, and he has been waiting for the outlet to be opened for passage since Saturday afternoon, amidst extremely poor humanitarian conditions.

Al-Salihi added to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: “I carry my bag containing our identification papers, and I wait with my family without shelter, food, or even money to buy what we need. We are waiting for the moment when the checkpoint will be opened, and we will be allowed to return to our destroyed residential areas. There, a new chapter of suffering will begin, and a difficult task will be to repair the damage, or provide new shelter.”

Palestinian Nael Sheikh Khalil lost his wife during the aggression. He moved his cart with his children to Salah al-Din Street, according to the announcement of the competent authorities, in preparation for their return on Sunday morning, but the checkpoint is still closed in their faces, amid repeated and sometimes heavy gunfire. He says: “The conditions near the checkpoint are dangerous, and the people waiting lack the most basic requirements for a decent life.”

The Israeli occupation continues to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis of the displaced, by closing the Netzarim and Salah al-Din checkpoints, even though the vast majority of them have been living in catastrophic conditions for many months. The occupation uses this as a tool to impose political and military conditions, while thousands of displaced people remain stranded.

The Israeli occupation's decision to refuse the return of the displaced from the southern Gaza Strip to its northern part has left tens of thousands of displaced people in a state of frustration and disappointment, especially hundreds of Palestinian families sleeping on the ground near "Nuwairi Hill", west of the Nuseirat camp, in the central governorate, and the crowded cars lined up on both sides of the Rashid coastal street in the western Gaza Strip.

Palestinian Nihad Abdul Hadi (32 years old) was one of those who dismantled their displacement tents, which he had set up in one of the displacement schools in the city of Deir al-Balah (central), in preparation for returning to his home in the Saftawi neighborhood, north of Gaza City, according to the terms of the ceasefire agreement. He told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: “On Friday, I decided to dismantle the tent, then I headed to Talat al-Nuwairi in preparation for heading to northern Gaza, but the occupation’s decision to prevent us from returning greatly disappointed me. The occupation is spoiling our joy of returning, which I have been waiting impatiently for months. I want to return to my home, it is true that it is destroyed, but I will set up a tent on its ruins and live in it with my family members.”

The situation of the Palestinian, Mohammed Mahdi, who has been living in a tent in one of the shelters west of Khan Younis Governorate (south) for 13 months is no different. He told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: “I moved to the Nuseirat camp on Saturday night, and spent the night there in order to enter the northern Gaza Strip as soon as it was permitted. The occupation decided to procrastinate as usual. But I will stay in the Nuseirat camp, and I will not return with my tent to Khan Younis again. I will wait for permission to return to the north, as I miss my home in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood north of Gaza City.”

In turn, Mahmoud Jumaa feels a pang in his heart, after waiting for more than 12 continuous hours on the side of the road, near the coastal Rashid Street, hoping to return to his home in the northern Gaza Strip, but that hope quickly dissipated after the occupation prevented them from passing through the “Netzarim” checkpoint.

Social media sites are filled with pictures and videos showing queues of cars loaded with dozens of bags and luggage belonging to displaced families, in addition to citizens sleeping on the roads near Talat al-Nuwairi and Rashid Coastal Street.

New Arab