NAGHAM KARAJEH

Gaza- Israel attacks targeting civilians in the Gaza Strip continue. Most of those who have been killed in Gaza are women and children. Hamas has held approximately 240 hostages in Gaza ever since the group launched an attack on Israel on October 7.

“We are ready to conduct an immediate prisoner exchange deal that includes the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for all prisoners held by the Palestinian resistance,” Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in the Gaza Strip, said in a statement. However, no deal has yet been reached about the hostages.

‘Palestinian women in Israeli prisons are subjected to violence’

Speaking to NuJINHA, Political activist Ghazal Al-Natour said that the exchange of prisoners offered by Hamas is very important for the release of Palestinian women subjected to violence in Israeli prisons. “Israel violates all international conventions and laws by using violence and all forms of intimidation against Palestinian prisoners. According to recent figures, more than 170 Palestinian children are held in Israeli prisons. 39 Palestinian women, the oldest one is Maysoon Musa Al-Jabali, have been held in prison since 2015. Maysoon Musa Al-Jabali is serving a 15-year imprisonment term. Shorouq Dwayyat and Shatila Suleiman Abu Eyada are serving a 16-year imprisonment term and Aisha Al-Afghani is serving a 13-year imprisonment term. Raghad Al-Fanni and other three Palestinian women are administrative female detainees,” she said.

Recalling the deal between Israel and Hamas in 2018, she said, “20 Palestinian women, 19 from the West Bank and a mother and her child from the Gaza Strip, were released in exchange for the release of Israeli soldiers.”

‘The Arab and international communities must take action’

Ghazal Al-Natour pointed out that Palestinian women were arrested by Israeli forces on false allegations and said:

“Their arrest is a conspiracy against their struggle and determination. The Arab and international communities must take action for their release. Their privacy and limited freedom are taken away from them due to cameras installed everywhere in prisons. They are deprived of the most basic living needs; they are denied access to treatment and held in bad wards.”

‘Sick prisoners are left to die’

She also commented on the conditions of sick Palestinians in Israeli prisons. “They are denied access to treatment; they are left to die. The health conditions of some women prisoners are deteriorating and they must be released immediately to receive treatment. Israa Jaabis is one of them. She suffers from severe deformities in her body, as a result of severe burns that affected 60% of her body. In 2015, she was injured when Israeli soldiers opened fire on her car, causing the explosion of a gas cylinder in her car.”

Emphasizing that the torture and isolation imposed by Israel on women prisoners is a violation of the international law and all conventions, Ghazal Al-Natour said:

“Israeli authorities try to humiliate and take revenge on women prisoners, despite the international conventions protecting prisoners. Arab countries must put pressure on Israel to accept the exchange of prisoners offered by Hamas. People should hold protests and sit-ins all around the world.”