ON MOTHER'S DAY, TWO PALESTINIAN MOTHERS IN ISRAELI PRISONS

**The Palestinian Prisoner’s Center for Studies has issued a report to highlight Palestinian mothers who spent this year’s Mother’s Day in Israeli prisons.**(Photo: Gaza Solidarity)

Ramallah, 2 Jumadil Akhir 1436/22 March 2015 (MINA) – The Palestinian Prisoner’s Center for Studies has issued a report to highlight Palestinian mothers who spent this year’s Mother’s Day in Israeli prisons.

There are currently 22 Palestinian women prisoners in Israeli custody, including two mothers, said Riyad al-Ashqar, spokesperson for the center, Ma’an News quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Prisoner Samaher Suleiman Ali Zein al-Din, 35, from Nablus is a mother of six, the youngest of whom, Naim, is only 4 years old. Zein al-Din was detained on May 28, 2014.

Meanwhile, prisoner Yasmin Taysir Abd al-Rahman Shaaban, 32, from Jenin is mother to four children. She was detained in November 2014, and is currently being held in the HaSharon jail and suffers from asthma.

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Mother’s Day, which is celebrated on different dates around the world, is marked on 21 Mar. in most Arabic nations.

According to al-Ashqar, the Zein al-Din family is especially badly affected, as Samaher’s husband, Nader Zein al-Din, is also being held in an Israeli prison.

The Zein al-Dins’ children are currently living with their grandparents.

Psychological and Physical Abuse

Female prisoners are often banned from family visitation and frequently face privacy violations through cameras installed by Israeli prison authorities in private quarters, in addition to late night searches, said Al-Ashqar.

Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association Addameer reported in 2014 that female prisoners are subjected to the same psychological and physical abuse as male counterparts under Israeli detention, and have reported beatings, insults, threats and sexual harassment.

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Female prisoners are also routinely humiliated by intrusive body searches, which often occur before and after court hearings, and during the night as punitive measures.

Israeli forces detained 112 Palestinian women and girls in 2014, marking a 70 percent increase from 2013.

Israeli forces routinely detain both Palestinian men and women throughout the West Bank, often on the pretext of perceived security threat, and Addameer estimates that 40 percent of the Palestinian male population has been arrested at some point.

As of February 2015 there were 6,200 political prisoners held in Israeli prisons in total, according to Addameer.(T/R05/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)