21 Palestinian women languishing in Israeli jails as world marks Women’s Day

Two Palestinian prisoners’ rights groups have announced that the occupying Israeli regime is holding 21 Palestinian female prisoners, who are subjected to systematic and organized crimes.

In a joint report on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, the Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) stated that the abuses have escalated since the onset of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, which marked the deadliest phase in the history of Palestinians.

They stated that various forms of abuse endured by female prisoners constitute starvation, systematic medical neglect, sexual assault, repeated raids of their cells, theft, deprivation, and psychological torture from the moment of their arrest.

The rights groups pointed out that the targeting of women does not happen on a case-by-case basis, but is rather a regular practice. The most significant change lies in the level of crimes committed against them.

According to the report, among the detainees are two young girls, one of whom is just 12 years old, 12 mothers, one pregnant in her third month, two administrative detainees, six teachers, a journalist who is a media student, and several sick prisoners, including one suffering from cancer.

Additionally, two women have been detained since before Operation Al-Aqsa Flood carried out by Hamas and other Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movements carried out against the Israeli regime on October 7, 2023, and Israeli authorities refuse to include them in prisoners-captives exchange deals.

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Since October 2023, prisoner advocacy institutions have documented 490 cases of female detentions, including minors. This includes women detained in the West Bank, al-Quds, and those from 1948-occupied territories. The exact number of women detained from Gaza remains unclear.

Last week, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates called for an international investigation into Israeli crimes against Palestinian prisoners.

The ministry said in a statement that it views with grave concern the increase in the number of Palestinian detainees, particularly from the Gaza Strip, who have died in Israeli custody.

The Palestinian foreign ministry called on international humanitarian and human rights organizations to swiftly intervene to protect Palestinian detainees, and oblige Israeli authorities to fulfill their responsibilities toward detainees.

It also stressed the need to enable the United Nations Commission of Inquiry to assume its tasks, and investigate these extrajudicial killings, committed against Palestinian detainees in a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions.

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