female prisoners and detainees in israeli jails

Intimidation and Torture
In order to obtain information, that in many cases
does not exist, physical and psychological torture is
exerted by Israeli prison authorities. Furthermore,
religious freedom is often restricted, exemplified by
the confiscation of the Holy book of the Qur’an and
other religious books. Examples of violent torture
are beating, prolonged handcuffing and plucking
locks of hair. Given their gender, female prisoners
are extremely vulnerable to sexual harassment.
Some female prisoners were stripped searched and
obliged to get naked and to set in squat position for
a long period of time.
FEMALE PRISONERS AND
DETAINEES IN ISRAELI
JAILS
IMPRISONMENT OF MOTHERHOOD
Causes of Arrests
Women are arrested and jailed for different periods
of time, ranging from a couple of hours to several
years. The main cause for arresting them is to put
pressure on their imprisoned partners or relatives.
In order to obtain confessions from prisoners, the
male prisoners are being threatened that their
imprisoned partner or relative will be harmed.
The majority of male Palestinian political prisoners
and detainees are accused of ‘resisting’ Israel’s
occupation or supporting ‘resistance’.
Often, the political prisoners and detainees are
public figures including political personalities,
intellectuals and members of religious groups.
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prisoners
and detainees
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FREEDOM | JUSTICE | HUMAN RIGHTS
Background
International law
Statistics
Since the occupation of Palestine in 1948, more
than 800,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned.
Different groups of the Palestinian society are
exposed to Israeli arrest campaigns, including
children, women and the elderly. For decades,
Palestinian female prisoners and detainees have
been jailed by Israel and exposed to physical and
psychological torture, in violation of humanitarian
law. Mothers are disconnected from their families
and young female prisoners grow up within jails.
The result: a humanitarian crisis storming in a large
number of Palestinian families.
The treatment of female Palestinian prisoners is a
violation of Articles 32, 49 and 76 of the Fourth
Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of
Civilian Persons in Time of War. Article 27 of this
convention asserts that women should enjoy
special protection, a right ignored by Israel.
Since 1967, it is estimated that more than 15,000
Palestinian women were arrested by Israel. No
accurate data is available for the period since the
establishment of Israel in 1948 up to 1967.
According to human rights organisations, the
number of female political prisoners and
detainees was 110 at the beginning of 2011. About
35 of them were released in a prisoner swap deal
conducted between Hamas and Israel. In February
2013, there were twelve female political prisoners
and detainees. The Israeli authorities continue to
arrest women on a regular basis.