Qalqilya: Israeli occupation forces detained at least 15 Palestinian women in an overnight raid in the Qalqilya governorate, according to the Palestinian Prisoner's Society (PPS). The majority of those detained were reported to be wives of released prisoners, wives of current prisoners, and mothers of slain Palestinians.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, the PPS highlighted that these detentions occurred amidst ongoing restrictions that prevent legal teams and families from visiting prisoners due to the ongoing conflict. The International Committee of the Red Cross has also been barred from conducting its visits. The PPS described the scale and focus of the campaign as unprecedented, with the operation targeting a specific group within a single night in one area. This action is part of a broader arrest campaign, involving more than 700 women in the West Bank and dozens in Gaza since the war began.
The PPS underscored that this mass targeting of women is a continuation of systematic and retaliatory arrest campaigns that occur daily across the West Bank. The targeting of women is identified as a long-standing policy of the occupation that has intensified post-genocide, with an increase in the number of women affected and the level of violations and abuse during arrests. Among the most frequently targeted are wives, mothers, and sisters of prisoners and those killed.
Furthermore, the PPS noted that many of the women arrested since the onset of the genocide have been subjected to administrative detention or charged with "incitement" on social media. Human rights organizations report that, as of yesterday, 74 female detainees are held in Israeli prisons, under harsh conditions, including torture, ill-treatment during interrogations, daily humiliation, deprivation of basic rights, and lack of medical treatment. These detainees also face unprecedented repression by special units and are subjected to strip searches.