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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-sexual-assault-palestinian-women">middleeasteye.net</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Israeli soldiers have been sexually assaulting Palestinian women for decades. Now they're speaking out</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">By Dania Akkad</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">3 December 2024<br></div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><div><p><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine" target="_blank">Palestinian</a> women have been sexually assaulted by <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel" target="_blank">Israeli </a>soldiers throughout the past <a href="https://www.gendersecurityproject.com/crsv-observatory-cases/crsv-palestine-during-the-nakba-1948" target="_blank">75 years</a>,
but researchers say they are only beginning to speak out about their
experiences as incidents have mounted since the 7 October attacks.</p>
<p>The cases are so similar, despite happening in different locations
and involving different branches of the Israeli military and police,
that those documenting them suspect a directive has been handed down.</p>
<p>“You hear these women being sexually assaulted and strip-searched and beaten on their genitals in the <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/tags/west-bank" target="_blank">West Bank</a>, in <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/tags/jerusalem" target="_blank">Jerusalem</a>
and in Gaza, being treated by different bodies of the Israeli system
but also being sexually assaulted in the same way,” Kefaya Khraim told
Middle East Eye.</p>
<p>It wasn’t always the case that Khraim and her colleague, Amal Abusrour, who both work at the Ramallah-based <a href="https://www.wclac.org/en" target="_blank">Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling</a> and spoke at length with MEE during a recent visit to London, would hear so many stories.</p>
<p>For decades, many Palestinian women have kept sexual violence they’ve
experienced at the hands of Israeli soldiers to themselves, not even
sharing it with their closest friends or family.</p>
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<p>This was partly out of shame or fear of being disgraced. Sometimes it
was out of a lack of recognition that what had happened was sexual
assault.</p>
<p>But also, Khraim said, it is because Palestinian women have “really low expectations from Israeli soldiers".</p>
<p>Khraim said one woman whose home was invaded by Israeli soldiers who
forced her to strip naked told her, “‘Oh, the female soldier was so nice
to me. She let me undress with the door closed’."</p>
<blockquote>
<p>'They expect so much humiliation and so much violence, so when it’s something like this, they don’t talk about it'</p>
<p><em>- Kefaya Khraim, WCLAC </em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>“So this is the kind of expectation. They expect so much humiliation
and so much violence so when it’s something like this, they don’t talk
about it.”</p>
<p>But the sheer number of women who have experienced sexual violence since the 7 October attacks has created a tipping point.</p>
<p>In<a href="https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g24/086/64/pdf/g2408664.pdf" target="_blank"> a report released</a>
in June, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied
Palestinian Territory offered details of the types of assaults it found
had been committed by Israeli soldiers against Palestinian women since
the Hamas-led attacks, including forced public nudity and stripping,
sexualised torture and abuse, and sexual humiliation and harassment.</p>
<p>Moreover, the commission said it had found that sexual violence "has
been perpetrated throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory".</p>
<p>Khraim said: “It’s happening a lot. It’s happening to every woman."</p>
<p>On Wednesday afternoon, British MPs are set to discuss the issue in a <a href="https://whatson.parliament.uk/event/cal49773" target="_blank">debate</a> focusing on sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinians. </p>
<p>Labour MP Abtisam Mohamed said she secured the debate after hearing
the harrowing testimonies that Khraim and Abusrour gave to MPs this
October. </p>
<p>"Sexual and gender-based violence has largely been overlooked in the
reporting of the conflict since October 7th 2023. I wanted to host the
debate as I wanted to raise awareness and to ensure there is justice and
accountability for crimes committed," Mohamed told MEE.</p>
<p>"International criminal law must be upheld without fear or favour and there must be consistency in<br>
its application. No state, group or individual is above the law."</p>
<p>Eva Tabbasam, director of the Gender Action for Peace and Security,
the UK's Women, Peace and Security civil society network in which WCLAC
is a partner, said reports of sexual violence at the hands of Israeli
soldiers are horrifying, but not new and "increasing at an alarming
rate".</p>
<p>"An independent, impartial investigation into all reports of sexual
violence across Palestine is imperative. All survivors deserve the
dignity of justice and accountability," Tabbasam said.</p>
<p>"This requires all states, especially the UK as the penholder on Women Peace and Security and a leader on <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/preventing-sexual-violence-in-conflict-initiative" target="_blank">preventing sexual violence in conflict</a>, to stridently uphold international law, enforce its consistent <br>
application, and ensure accountability."</p>
<h3>'Patterns of violations'</h3>
<p>Since the 7 October attacks, Israel has "followed systemic patterns
of violations, targeting Palestinians in general and women in
part", Abusrour said.</p>
<p>"Israel actually understands the existing culture and the sensitivity
of targeting women and violating women’s rights and even exposing
women. Israel has been utilising this approach in order to impose a
social stigma on the Palestinian society, and on Palestinian women in
particular."</p>
<p>In the West Bank alone, more than 200 Palestinian women, including
human rights defenders and journalists, were arrested and detained
following the 7 October attacks.</p>
<p>One of the women, Palestinian journalist Lama Khater, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/1/10/threatened-with-rape-lama-khater-recalls-horrors-while-in-israeli-jails" target="_blank">went public</a>
when she was released, telling of the harsh treatment and conditions
she endured - and that she had been strip-searched and threatened with
rape.</p>
<p>“She was one of the bravest women who went forward and spoke out
about her experience,” Khraim said. “She talked publicly about it and
paved the way for other women to speak.”</p>
<div>
<p><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-war-palestinian-writer-threatened-rape-prison" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/read_more/public/images-story/lama-khater-palestinian-writer-prisoner.jpg.webp?itok=9I8ediKq" width="400" height="250" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img">
</a></p><p>Israel-Palestine war: Palestinian writer 'threatened with rape' in Israeli prison</p>
<p><br>
</p></div>
<p>At least 20 of the women detained in the West Bank have shared their
accounts with WCLAC. All said that they were strip-searched multiple
times a day in front of one another and beaten on their genitals.</p>
<p>In Jerusalem, Khraim and Abusrour heard a similar account from Selma,
a pseudonym they use to protect her identity. The 25-year-old was
heading to her job at a nursery in Jerusalem when she was stopped by an
Israeli soldier at Bab al-Zahra, one of the gates leading to the Old
City.</p>
<p>The soldier wanted to know why she was wearing green. “This is none of your business,” Selma responded.</p>
<p>“For that, she was taken to a police station for four hours, stripped
naked and beaten repeatedly on her genitals while the cameras
recorded,” Khraim said.</p>
<p>“We are talking about mass sexual assaults happening. We are talking
about women being braver now that they see that it is happening to
everyone,” Khraim said.</p>
<p>“They feel kind of empowered because there are many of them now.”</p>
<h3>Perils of speaking out</h3>
<p>But it’s not just organisations like theirs which are documenting these cases, Abusrour said.</p>
<p>“Israeli soldiers actually disseminate videos, footage on social
media, on TikTok, saying proudly that they have sexually assaulted
Palestinian women or they have robbed Palestinian women,” she said.</p>
<p>In contrast, Palestinian women who are prepared to share their stories may struggle to amplify them.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>'Sexual violence against Palestinian women didn’t start on 7 October. It started way before'</p>
<p><em>- Amal Abusrour, WCLAC</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>In July 2023, for example, B’Tselem <a href="https://www.btselem.org/routine_founded_on_violence/20230905_soldiers_enter_homes_of_extended_ajlouni_family_with_dogs_and_female_soldiers_strip_search_women" target="_blank">documented</a>
an incident in which Israeli soldiers invaded a home in Hebron and,
under the threat of large dogs and gunpoint, forced five women,
including a 17-year-old, to fully undress in front of their family
members and the soldiers.</p>
<p>When the incident was reported in the media, it went viral because public discussions of sexual assault are so rare.</p>
<p>Representatives from human rights groups were discussing the case on a
public radio station when a local tribal leader came on air and
attacked them for bringing attention to what had happened.</p>
<p>“From his point of view, repeating and exposing that incident was
very hard for the family and it would oppress those women,” said
Abusrour.</p>
<p>"This shows you how much social stigma is associated with sexual
violence. And also shows that sexual violence against Palestinian women
didn’t start on 7 October. It started way before."</p>
<p>In addition to social stigma, Palestinian women who have been
sexually assaulted have told WCLAC that they have faced further threats
from Israeli soldiers following what has happened to them.</p>
<p>There are two captains, in particular, who are known to call up
women. "They keep calling these women on their phones regularly, asking
them not to speak to the media and not to talk about their stories,"
Khraim said.</p>
<p>A woman named Khulood told WCLAC that she had been abducted with her
husband from the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus and
was sexually assaulted in front of him in an attempt to force her to
talk.</p>
<p>"Khulood went on to the media and talked about her experience, minus
the sexual assault that she faced," Khraim said. Afterwards, one of the
captains called her.</p>
<p>"'If you speak to the media again, we are taking you back'," Khulood said she was warned.</p>
<h3>Missing school, marrying early</h3>
<p>The impact of sexual assault on Palestinian women goes well beyond the acts themselves and their immediate victims.</p>
<p>The simple possibility of being sexually assaulted at a checkpoint
means that for many Palestinian women and girls, going to school or work
or home - something restricted for all Palestinians living under
occupation - has an added layer of risk and burden.</p>
<p>One woman, whose case was documented by WCLAC, was being searched by
an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint when he moved into a particular
space, away from a glaring surveillance camera.</p>
<p>He took out his penis and told her to look at it and touch it, the woman reported.</p>
<p>Khraim and Abusrour have documented other cases of women who report
they have been strip-searched at checkpoints, exposed to the public
and had their photos taken while naked.</p>
<div>
<p><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/strip-searches-and-starvation-israel-intensifies-abuse-palestinian-female-prisoners" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/read_more/public/images-story/2023-11-24T080717Z_612792720_RC2JJ4AVM6QB_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-PRISON-MORNING%20%281%29.jpg.webp?itok=XSC249_e" width="400" height="250" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img">
</a></p><p>Palestinian women prisoners starved and strip searched as Israeli abuse intensifies</p>
<p><br>
</p></div>
<p>But even for women and girls who have not been assaulted, the risk of such incidents has consequences.</p>
<p>In the southern part of Hebron, Abusrour said WCLAC has seen cases
of girls dropping out of school and families marrying them off at an
early age.</p>
<p>"The main reason behind this is not that families think girls should
be married off at an early age, but it's out of fear because those
families really want a better life for their daughters and they want
their daughters to live in a better place," Abusrour said. </p>
<p>"We met with those girls and families and we realised that those
girls...tend to stop going to school during their monthly period simply
because, at the checkpoints, they will be body searched by male
soldiers."</p>
<p>In the same area in Hebron, Abusrour said she met pregnant women who "reported that pregnancy is a kind of nightmare". </p>
<p>"Instead of being nine months of joy, waiting for your child, it's a
nightmare for them simply because they do not know when they will be in
labour and if they will have an ambulance to take them to the hospital,"
she said.</p>
<p>Many go to stay with relatives outside of the area to make sure they can get to a hospital on time.</p>
<p>"It's kind of a systematic approach by the Israeli military and the
settlers who live inside south Hebron to expel Palestinians from that
particular area and to intimidate them by using the women and the bodies
of women to increase the shameful practices around these communities,"
Abusrour said.</p>
<h3>'Our responsibility'</h3>
<p>Given what they've documented and what they know is possible, I asked
Khraim and Abusrour if they are ever scared for their own safety as
they go about their daily lives.</p>
<p>"To me, it made me channel my anger about what's happening - to feel
like I'm at least documenting and writing this," Khraim said. </p>
<p>"We knew this happened before this. We have all been subjected to
violence. Our homes have been invaded before. We have been attacked by
settlers before. It's nothing we don't know."</p>
<blockquote>
<p>'We have all been subjected to violence. Our homes have been invaded
before. We have been attacked by settlers before. It's nothing we don't
know'</p>
<p><em>- Kefaya Khraim, WCLAC</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>She added: "Working with women like that and giving them the platform
to say their stories and their accounts makes them feel empowered in a
way, makes them feel like their stories are not going unchecked."</p>
<p>Abusrour said she feels privileged not only because she has the
knowledge of how to protect herself, but also how to support other women
and share their testimonies to expose what has happened to them.</p>
<p>"I feel proud of what I am doing but, at the same time, I feel
anxious. As a human rights defender, I am not safe now going back home,"
she said, alluding to her return trip to Ramallah from London. </p>
<p>"I'm not safe going from one place to another. I'm not safe at the
office because we are under scrutiny as a human rights organisation and
we are under surveillance by the Israeli military."</p>
<p>They can never know when their office will be invaded or if WCLAC
could be designated as a terrorist organisation as the Israeli defence
ministry <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestine-un-urges-funding-six-groups-designated-terrorist-israel" target="_blank">did to six Palestinian NGOs</a> in 2021.</p>
<p>"However, we feel that we are responsible to share the responsibility
with other human rights organisations, with other women's rights
organisations to bring an end to these atrocities," she said. </p>
<p>"It is our responsibility as women, as human rights defenders and as feminists."</p>
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