Gaza -

"The intelligence officer bargained with me to work for him in exchange for allowing me to be treated." This is what happened with Muhammad about 4 years ago when he went to the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in order to reach Al-Makassed Hospital in the occupied city of Jerusalem.

At that time, 34-year-old Muhammad - nicknamed "Abu Yazan" - obtained an Israeli permit after 3 times in which the occupation authorities refused to grant him a permit that would allow him to pass through Erez in order to receive treatment that is not available in Gaza hospitals.

Muhammad refused to submit to the blackmail of the Israeli intelligence officer and bargained with him by communicating with him in exchange for treatment, and returned to Gaza after withdrawing his permit, telling Al Jazeera Net, "I still suffer from severe pain in my arm and live on painkillers."

Palestinians are subjected to blackmail in exchange for giving them an Israeli permit at the Erez Crossing (Reuters)

Two intelligence officers took turns talking with Abu Yazan and trying to lure him with protection and a lot of privileges, and when he stuck to his rejectionist position, one of them shouted at him, "Leave (leave) and you will die in Gaza."

Abu Yazan said, "Treatment is important, and life is expensive, but dignity and the homeland are more precious and more important."

Saeed - a friend of Abu Yazan, who was sitting with him on the seashore - shared the opinion, and said, "I am not ready to go through such an experience," adding that he did not apply for a work permit in Israel, although all conditions apply to him.

The Erez crossing is considered a mandatory passage to access Israel and the West Bank, and passage through it - whether for medical treatment or for work and trade - requires an Israeli permit.

Palestinian human rights reports describe this crossing as a "trap" that the occupation authorities use to bargain the Palestinian over his pain and his need for work or treatment, and sometimes to lure and arrest.

Security and Advocacy Committee

Awareness activities are currently active in the Gaza Strip warning of the dangers of the occupation's methods of blackmail and bargaining, and the exploitation of the Palestinians' need for these permits.

A committee composed of the Ministries of Interior and National Security, and Endowments and Religious Affairs, which are run by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), are supervising these activities, in conjunction with the supervision of the movement’s Ministry of Labor on the registration of those wishing to obtain permits to work in Israel.

And the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, Dr. Abdul Hadi Al-Agha, told Al-Jazeera Net that this committee implements plans and programs to educate Palestinian citizens, especially the workers segment, in a manner that guarantees them immunity from the intelligence methods of the occupation to entrap them in "and dissolving intelligence and espionage."

And last Friday, the ministry circulated a “unified sermon” to all mosques in the Gaza Strip, devoted to talking about the dangers of communicating with the occupation, and explaining the legal ruling in communicating with the enemy, according to Al-Agha.

He added that the "sanctity" of communicating with the enemy is verified and agreed upon by the majority of scholars and jurists, and some have argued that retribution should be imposed on the communicator by killing him in all cases.

Al-Agha urged the workers and everyone who is forced by the need for a permit to pass through Erez to display "dignity and dignity", and not to submit to blackmail, whatever the methods and temptations, and said, "We do not live for our religion and our country."

A security committee in Gaza is active in raising awareness of the Palestinians about the blackmail and bargaining that they may face at the crossing (Reuters)

brain fight

In turn, Dr. Ibrahim Habib, a security expert and lecturer at the "Rabat University College" of the Ministry of Interior in Gaza, told Al Jazeera Net that the methods of pressure and blackmail are many, but they do not work with those with strong will.

Habib explained that the occupation intelligence officers study the "weaknesses" of the targeted person - whether he is a worker, a patient or a trader - and make them an entry point for bargaining. To withstand and resist.

And the intelligence officer - according to Habib - has a ceiling to try and use the methods of carrot and intimidation.

Habib warns "some" of those who believe that they can deceive the intelligence officer of the occupation into agreeing with him and giving a false consent to the intelligence.

He advised the workers and all those passing through Erez who are subjected to blackmail and bargaining for communication with the occupation to hurry and not hesitate to inform the security services on the Palestinian side of the crossing to take the necessary action, and to reassure them of their interests and the confidentiality of information.

He said, "The security services deal with these cases with a lot of professionalism, provide advice and guidance to the author, take into account his interests and needs, and do not necessarily issue a travel ban decision."

With regard to the category of workers, the security expert said that the security services “do not need workers linked to the resistance,” and do not mind workers obtaining work permits, and encourage them to search for sources of livelihood to get them out of a state of distress and poverty in light of the deteriorating living situation and high unemployment rates in Gaza.

The information indicates that Israel agreed - for the first time since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000 - for the entry of 30,000 workers from Gaza to work for it in accordance with political understandings and as a result of indirect talks conducted by mediators between Israel and Hamas, whose supervision of the labor registration process represents a precedent that has not occurred before.