‘Israel’ Escalates Detention of Palestinian Women in West Bank

The family of detainee Layan Nasser, 24, from Ramallah, has been following every news related to Israeli prison conditions since the re-detainment of their daughter five months ago.

The recent increase in the arrest of Palestinian women by the Israeli army shows disregard for their special circumstances.

Among the female detainees are sick elderly women, mothers and pregnant women, and those wounded by bullets. The detainments target school teachers, journalists, social activists, and former detainees as well.

According to the Addameer Foundation for Prisoner Care and Human Rights, the number of female detainees is currently 88, excluding the number of female detainees from the Gaza Strip, which remains unknown.

‘Our cherished daughter’
Layan was detained for two months in 2021. She was studying nutrition at Birzeit University. She was released under conditions, including continued appearances before the Israeli courts.

On April 7, an Israeli military force stormed her home at Birzeit, north of Ramallah, and detained her again, despite her commitment to appearing before the courts for three years.

Her father, Sami Nasser, told Al Mayadeen English that her arrest was surprising, especially since she graduated and began working. Then, she was transferred to administrative detention without any charges, and her detention was renewed immediately after it ended, without any trial being held.

Layan, the youngest in the family alongside her twin brother Basil, was very special to her parents being their only daughter among two sons. Despite her age, she behaved with great responsibility and helped every member of the family as much as she could.

“She has a lot of positive energy and a strong personality. She doesn’t hesitate to help anyone. Her absence created a huge void in the house, and her usual smile was sorely missed. We wait for her every day to come back to us,” her father said emotionally.

In light of the harsh conditions that “Israel” imposes on Palestinian detainees and prisoners, alongside its aggression on the Gaza Strip since last October, Layan’s family fears that she may suffer from malnutrition, lack of medical treatment, or even the slightest punishment.

Sami expressed his anguish, saying, “We cannot fathom the idea of Layan enduring any psychological or physical harm or torture. When they arrested her, they tied her hands tightly and blindfolded her right in front of us. She’s our cherished child. How can they treat her this way?”

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Sad stories
Journalist Ikhlas Sawalha, 25, from Jenin, is still trying to recover from her nine-month detention, as she was released on August 8.

Not a day passes without remembering the female detainees she left behind to suffer in prison, enduring the repeated oppression by the prison guards.

Damon is the main prison for Palestinian female detainees. However, in the aftermath of the aggression on the Gaza Strip, human rights organizations have expressed doubts about the existence of secret prisons specifically for female detainees from the Gaza Strip.

Sawalha told Al Mayadeen English that she was arrested at a military checkpoint in the northern West Bank on December 12. She was pushed to the ground, tied up, and kept in the freezing cold for hours.

Then, she was transferred to Hasharon Prison, which serves as a transfer station for female detainees. There, she was subjected to harsh beatings during the strip search she was forced to undergo, despite its cruelty.

A few days later, Sawalha was transferred to administrative detention. She longed to know what she was accused of and why she had been detained. Her thoughts were also consumed by worry for her husband, who was imprisoned as well.

“Each one of the prisoners had a sad story,” she added. “One was five months pregnant and feared giving birth in prison. Another had a bullet wound in her leg and required constant medical care. An elderly woman needed medication for diabetes, and yet another was in solitary confinement.”

According to her description, nutrition is very poor, and it sometimes only consists of lentils and barley. Additionally, water and electricity are constantly cut off.

“Medical care is non-existent, and female prisoners are not receiving any medical examinations even if they request them. There is constant repression, such as throwing tear gas bombs into the prisoners’ rooms for even the slightest reason,” Ikhlas explained.

Female detainees from the Gaza Strip were sometimes brought to Damon prison in miserable conditions, bound and forced to take off the hijab and wear army uniforms. They were subjected to rape, sexual harassment, torture, and brutal beatings.

The prison administration didn’t allow female detainees from the West Bank to mix with those from Gaza, except on very rare occasions. They would only have brief moments together during the half hour they are allowed in the prison yard.

The most difficult year
Human rights organizations constantly reveal the horrors of Israeli policies, including the arrest of Palestinian women and the violation of their most basic rights, making this the most difficult year they have ever faced.

Amani al-Sarahneh, the media spokeswoman for the Palestinian Prisoners Society, informed us that “Israel” systematically escalated its arrest operations against Palestinian women after October 7 and didn’t exclude minors. This included taking women hostage to pressure a family member into surrendering.

Sexual assaults were carried out against female detainees, including harassment, strip searches, and threats of rape.

“Today, female detainees are subjected to a starvation policy: They are deprived of obtaining additional food items sold at the canteen and of medical care,” she added.

The overcrowding situation imposed by the prison administration has also placed a heavy burden on female detainees. This policy has led to many tragic conditions of detention: They are sometimes compelled to sleep on the floor, suffer from a severe shortage of clothes and blankets, and endure the deliberate provision of undrinkable and dirty water by the prison administration.