MIDEAST - WEST BANK: Supporters of Palestinian woman on hunger strike clash with Israeli soldiers

Record ID: 340679

  • Title: MIDEAST - WEST BANK: Supporters of Palestinian woman on hunger strike clash with Israeli soldiers
  • Date: 9th March 2012
  • Summary: SLATE INFORMATION
  • Embargoed: 24th March 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: West bank
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA4DU35C866KQ9FVMNHHYZ7QATV
  • Story Text: Hundreds gathered at rallies across the West Bank and Gaza on Thursday (March 8) to mark the International Women's Day and highlight the plight of a Palestinian woman on hunger strike for the past 22 days.
    Hana Shalabi, a member of the Islamic Jihad militant group, stopped taking food after Israeli troops seized her in the occupied West Bank on Feb. 16, becoming the second Palestinian detainee in quick succession to resort to a hunger strike.
    Clashes between Shalabi's supporters and Israeli soldiers erupted near Qalandiya checkpoint between northern West Bank and Jerusalem after the women approached the checkpoint. The soldiers fired tear gas and stun grenades and used water canon to disperse the protesters In Borqeen, near the West Bank town of Jenin, Shalabi's mother, Badia Shalabi appealed for her daughter's release.
    "My daughter has been on hunger strike for 22 days while she remains in detention, my daughter is exhausted, she is dying in the occupiers' jail, our children die in the occupiers' jails, they are being buried alive," Badia Shalabi said.
    Palestinian Minister of Prisoner Affairs Issa Karaki joined the demonstrators outside Shalabi's home in Borqeen.
    "We called for the people to commemorate of International Women's Day (March 8) here in Bourqeen, the birth place of prisoner Hana Shalabi, who is marking the day with perseverance, strong will, and a refusal to be treated in such an evil way by the occupiers," Karaki said.
    Hanan Ashrawi, PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organisation) Legislative Council member, hailed Shalabi as a heroine embodying the spirit of the Palestinian women.
    "The women movement in general, all formal and informal parties see Hana Shalabi, a prisoner held without any evidence or trial, as a symbol of Palestinian resistance, an extraordinary symbol of the spirit of Palestinian women," Ashrawi said.
    Israel had previously held Shalabi for 25 months in so-called "administrative detention" but released her in October under a prisoner swap with the Islamist militant group Hamas. Shalabi's father, Yehia, said since the exchange his daughter had not been active in Islamic Jihad.
    Israel struck a deal last month with Khader Adnan, another Islamic Jihad member, persuading him to end his 66-day fast after assuring him that he would be released in April from his detention without trial.
    Human rights groups have condemned Israel's detention without trial of some 300 Palestinians. Israeli authorities say the procedure is used in some security-related cases and helps to protect confidential sources from exposure in court.
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