Occupation arrests close to 100 Palestinian women in 2015

The Israeli occupation forces have arrested 78 Palestinian women in the first quarter of this year, including several minors, a Palestinian NGO revealed on Monday.

The Middle East Monitor quoted the Palestinian Prisoners Centre for Studies (PPCS) said that this year has seen a clear escalation in the detention of Palestinian women, including minors. “Most of [the women] were arrested inside the Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa Mosque,” the NGO said.

Riyad Al-Ashqar, the head of PPCS, said that the women were defending the holy site from the almost daily invasion of Israeli settlers.

“Most of them were released, but the Israeli occupation issued expulsion orders [that] lasted for three years against them, [and] they were ordered to pay massive fines,” Al-Ashqar said.

He also noted that the suffering of female prisoners in Israeli jails has increased during the past few months, especially the increase of night raids that are notoriously carried out by male Israeli soldiers without pre-warning.

The NGO called for international organisations and official bodies to immediately intervene to put an end to the suffering of Palestinian women in the Israeli prison system. He also called for mass media to shed light on the issue of female prisoners.

M. Wassouf