Israel has arrested 215 Palestinian women since October

Israel has arrested 215 Palestinian women, including minors, since the start of the Jerusalem Intifada in October last year, QudsNet reported yesterday.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Centre for Studies (PPCS), the captives included the mothers, wives and daughters of prisoners, as well as women who are over 60 years old.

PPCS spokesman Riyad Al-Ashqar said that there had been a “notable increase” in the targeting of Palestinian women, noting that there is at least one arrest every day.

Some of the women who were arrested were released after a short period, he explained, while others were investigated first or held under administrative detention or in prison hospitals because they were injured at the time of their arrest.

There are currently 68 Palestinian women currently in Israeli jails, including 11 who are wounded and 18 minors. The youngest is 14-year-old Istabraq Nour who was wounded as she was shot when arrested, Al-Ashqar explained.

The four women being held under administrative detention were arrested on claims of incitement.