Former 'Israeli' soldier filmed with stolen Gaza property joins Oregon police

• Melina Suarez, a US-born woman of Mexican descent who served in the ‘Israeli’ army, returned to Oregon and joined a tribal police department.
• Suarez previously appeared in footage displaying a prayer bead reportedly taken from a Palestinian home in Gaza and was involved in fundraising for ‘Israeli’ soldiers.

In October 2023, Melina Suarez, a Mexican-American woman who grew up in Oregon, was on a personal vacation when she decided to pack her belongings and immediately enlist in the ‘Israeli’ army.

Suarez served as a soldier in the military's Combat Search and Rescue Unit during the war on Gaza.

During that period, she attracted attention in Oregon through fundraising efforts and campaigns to collect donations and supplies for fellow soldiers involved in military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Suarez's involvement extended beyond her military service. She appeared in documented footage displaying a prayer bead that she said had been taken from a destroyed home in Gaza.

The footage has drawn attention amid widespread documentation of looting and the seizure of personal belongings from Palestinian homes by ‘Israeli’ soldiers during military operations in the Gaza Strip.

After returning to the United States, Suarez joined the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Police Department in Oregon as a police officer.

Her transition from serving in a military unit involved in operations in Gaza to a law enforcement position tasked with protecting civilian communities has sparked criticism and renewed questions over the standards used to assess candidates for US police positions.

The case has also drawn scrutiny over how military service abroad is evaluated when former personnel seek positions in American law enforcement.