The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) launched another large-scale arrest campaign in the West Bank on Tuesday, September 17, in which dozens of Palestinians were detained. ِAbla Sa’adat, a prominent progressive feminist and human rights activist, was arrested from her home in Al-Bireh city in the central occupied West Bank during an IOF raid of her home. Abla Sa’adat, is also the wife of imprisoned Palestinian leader Ahmad Sa’adat, the Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Along with Abla Sa’adat other progressive feminist and human rights activists were detained after their homes were also raided in different parts of the West Bank, including the General Director of the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees Tahrir Jaber. Doaa al-Qadi, who is a media student at Birzeit University, and journalist Qutaiba Hamdan were also arrested on Tuesday.
The Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC) issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the ongoing brutal arrest campaign that has been launched by the Israeli occupation against human rights defenders since 2020, including Tuesday’s arrests. The UPWC stated that by continuously raiding and arresting Palestinian activists, the Israeli occupation has been attempting to tighten the noose on national, feminist, and human rights work. The union asserted in its statement that such practices will never hinder the progress of the Palestinian feminist movement, and called on all freedom fighters in Palestine and all over the world to launch solidarity campaigns with Palestinian female prisoners and detained activists until they are freed.
For its part, the Palestinian Information Center described the arrest campaign as a kidnapping operation given the military raids carried out at the houses of detainees, and because the reasons behind their detention are still unknown.
According to Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, at least 87 female Palestinian detainees have been imprisoned in Israeli occupation jails, and have been subjected to mistreatment, humiliation, and flagrant violations of human rights. Whereas, the total number of political prisoners is 9900, out of whom 3332 are administrative detainees, who have been imprisoned without any charge.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the PFLP strongly condemned the arrest campaign, which it considered as “part of a systematic policy pursued against its leaders and their families”. PFLP also described the incident as a “desperate attempt to dissuade its cadres from continuing their struggle against the occupation.”
