Settler attacks injure elderly woman in Hebron, increasing number of female prisoners in occupation jails

An 80-year-old Palestinian woman sustained physical injuries on Thursday evening as a result of a brutal attack carried out by settlers in the Masafer Yatta area, south of Hebron city in the occupied West Bank. Activist Osama Makhamreh reported that a group of settlers attacked Khirbet Ghwein and assaulted citizen Mariam Salim Al-Hawamdeh with sticks, necessitating her transfer by ambulance to the hospital for necessary treatment.

In a related context, local sources stated that occupation forces arrested two citizens after an attack by armed settlers on shepherds in the Khallet Amira and Rajoum A'li areas of Masafer Yatta. The sources explained that the settlers chased the shepherds and released their livestock into citizens' fields to destroy crops, before army forces intervened and arrested the two young men, Khalil and Hamza Al-Adra.

Israeli occupation forces raided the town of Dura, west of Hebron, where soldiers fired live ammunition and tear gas canisters at citizens and their properties. Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli forces abused a number of young men and detained them on the spot, and also forced shop owners to close their doors at gunpoint.

In Bethlehem Governorate, ambulance crews recorded numerous cases of suffocation due to inhaling toxic gas during the occupation forces' raid on the town of Husan. Military vehicles were stationed around the municipal stadium and fired a barrage of stun grenades and gas canisters, leading to clashes with young men who tried to confront the raid.

Occupation forces also raided the town of Al-Khader, south of Bethlehem, amidst heavy firing of live ammunition and gas canisters, although no direct bullet injuries were reported. These raids come as part of an ongoing military escalation targeting Palestinian villages and towns to tighten restrictions on citizens' movements.

In the northern West Bank, settlers attacked the town of Beita, south of Nablus, prompting residents to confront them, leading to violent clashes in the area. Following this, occupation forces raided the town to secure the settlers' withdrawal, while other forces arrested a young man from the Harash Al-Saada area in Jenin city during a search and arrest campaign.

Regarding the issue of prisoners, the Palestinian Prisoner's Club announced an increase in the number of female prisoners in occupation jails to 66 Palestinian women, including 3 children who face harsh conditions. The club stated in a press release that the occupation arrested 10 women in the past few days, noting that most arrests were based on charges related to incitement via social media platforms.

The statement affirmed that the occupation continues to target Palestinian women unprecedentedly since the start of the war of extermination on the Gaza Strip, with more than 680 arrests recorded among women. The club indicated that this statistic includes those who are still in detention and does not include dozens of cases from the Gaza Strip that have not been officially documented due to enforced disappearance.

Occupation authorities detain the majority of female prisoners in Damon Prison in northern Israel, while others are distributed among various interrogation and detention centers. Female prisoners in these jails face tragic conditions, including deprivation of basic human rights and essential needs, amidst a systematic policy of tightening restrictions by prison administrations.

The Prisoner's Club revealed that female prisoners are subjected to continuous abuse, including starvation and deprivation of family visits, in addition to physical and psychological torture. The organization warned of the danger of the 'naked search' policy practiced against female prisoners, describing it as one of the most prominent methods of sexual assault and blatant violations of dignity.

Female prisoners also suffer from deliberate medical neglect and deprivation of necessary treatment, which exacerbates the health condition of sick and injured women among them. These repressive measures come at a time when the pace of attacks inside prisons has escalated in conjunction with the comprehensive aggression against the Palestinian people in all their locations.

According to official data, occupation attacks in the West Bank since October 7 have resulted in at least 1,112 martyrs and about 11,500 injured. The total number of arrests has also risen to over 22,000 cases, in a process aimed at undermining Palestinian existence and facilitating settlement expansion operations.

Prisoner institutions' statistics indicate that the total number of prisoners in occupation jails exceeded 9,300 Palestinians as of early February, including 350 children. The prisoner movement is experiencing one of its most difficult historical periods amid a lack of international oversight and the escalation of retaliatory policies pursued by the occupation government.

Observers believe that the occupation's intensification of killing, arrest, and displacement operations in the West Bank paves the way for imposing a new reality aimed at officially annexing the West Bank. These field movements coincide with the ongoing war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, placing the international community before its responsibilities to stop these grave violations against civilians and prisoners.

Female prisoners face tragic detention conditions and are subjected to various forms of violations, systematic deprivation, and denial, including naked searches.