Gazans rally for release of jailed women in Israel

By Mustafa Haboush

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Scores of Palestinian women staged a rally in the Gaza Strip on Monday in solidarity with detained females in Israeli prisons.

Participants carried pictures of detained women outside the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza City.

"Palestinian females are going through an endless suffering in Israeli prisons," Dina el-Helou of Islamic Jihad group, which organized the rally, told the participants.

"Israeli authorities are exercising the worst types of physical and psychological torture against detainees," she said.

During the rally, participants chanted slogans calling for the international community and rights groups to intervene to guarantee an immediate release of women held in Israeli prisons.

"Israeli prison authorities don't hesitate to deprive female prisoners from their simplest rights," el-Helou said.

According to Palestinian figures, more than 6,000 Palestinians continue to languish in Israeli detention facilities, including parliament members, women and minors.