Spies' families marginalized in Gaza
As the Palestinian resistance publicly executes Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel, the families of the spies suffer marginalization and shame.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The punishment that Palestinian spies for Israel face does not end with their execution by the Palestinian resistance. It continues with the marginalization and social shaming of their family members.
The family of a collaborator with the occupation pays the price of their relative's connection to the Israeli intelligence, and faces long-lasting social stigmas, such as difficulties in maintaining and finding jobs, accessing education and finding a partner for marriage.
Issam, 32, who resides in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, still remembers the details of the incident that took place when he was only seven years old. A group of masked gunmen forced entry into the family home, took his father and killed him in front of a group of people, claiming that he collaborated with Israel.
Issam, who only agreed to speak to Al-Monitor by giving his first name, said, “I still remember the masked man who read out a note in front of the crowd that included the charges filed against my father, before the other masked men killed him. Since then, my mother, my four siblings and I live a different life — people stare at us and mistreat us.”
