- Archbishop criticizes Israel over detention of Palestinian Christian woman
- Layan Nasir’s case highlights Israel’s controversial administrative detention policy
- Human rights groups condemn Israel’s treatment of Palestinian detainees
The case brings to light the contentious Israeli policy of administrative detention, which involved the apprehension of thousands of Palestinians without charges for several months.
Israel has been criticized by the Archbishop of Canterbury for its detention of a young Christian Palestinian woman in the occupied West Bank.
The situation involving Layan Nasir, according to the head of the Anglican Church, Justin Welby, is a violation of Israel’s assurances regarding the treatment of Christians.
The case brings to light the contentious Israeli policy of administrative detention, which involved the apprehension of thousands of Palestinians without charges for several months.
Ms. Nasir, age 23, was abducted from her residence early on April 6th.
Lulu, her mother, reports that twenty soldiers barricaded her family with firearms as they investigated the residence at 4:00 a.m.
She states that she is now overcome with anxiety because she does not know why the soldiers abducted her daughter. She claims the Israelis have not disclosed anything to the family.
She states, “The worst part was going to bed at night and immediately began to wonder how she slept.” Has she eaten? I find this extremely difficult when I begin to ponder in this manner. “I am concerned but powerless to intervene.”
Ms. Nasir’s detention, according to the Israeli military, is “intelligence-based and she poses a security threat.
However, her apprehension has incited the Archbishop of Canterbury to intervene in an extremely unusual manner.
It is believed that Ms. Nasir is the only Palestinian-Christian woman in Israeli custody.
The archbishop’s office stated, “I am profoundly troubled to learn that she is being subjected to four months of administrative detention without charge and without the ability of her, her family’s, or attorneys’ legal representatives to contest this.”
Such actions against a minority that is already gravely imperiled violate longstanding commitments.
Legal authorities and human rights organizations condemn Israel.
Human rights groups and experts in international law have condemned the Israeli practice of holding thousands of Palestinians in administrative detention without indictment.
Since October 7th, the number of Palestinians detained, including Ms. Nasir, has nearly tripled to over 3,500.
A four-month hold is possible, with the possibility of renewal every four months for a maximum of two years.
There are numerous reports that conditions in Israeli prisons have deteriorated significantly since the start of the current conflict.
“I wish they would kill me”
According to him, social worker and human rights activist Munther Amira was forcibly removed from his residence in the Aida camp in Bethlehem in December. While in detention, Amira was allegedly beaten and stripped naked.
He claims that the experience has caused him severe trauma.
He explains, “When you are naked, you are compelled to stand up and raise your hand and, at times, your leg in order to expose your legs.”
He claims it provoked “extreme anger.”
I wish they had murdered me earlier. He further states, “Perhaps this is my first time experiencing this sensation of what constitutes sexual harassment.”
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“They were compelled to make noise like dogs every day.”
And according to Munther, he could hear Palestinian detainees being mistreated and detained in the same jail.
“They can be heard.” “Therefore, the guards beat them daily,” he explains.
“They were compelled to make noise like dogs every day.” “Either they were compelled to express their dissent towards their leadership or they were reduced to tears.”
Israel denies any wrongdoing
The Israeli military issued the following statement: “Any form of mistreatment towards detainees, whether during their detention or interrogation, is in direct opposition to IDF values and orders, and is therefore strictly prohibited.
The IDF refutes unsubstantiated and generalized allegations of sexual assault against detainees in its detention facilities.
“Degrading and inhuman treatment”
However, the practice of acquittal-free detention of thousands of Palestinians, according to NGOs such as Amnesty International, aids in their “degrading and inhuman treatment.”
Israel has exchanged several Palestinian detainees for hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since the outbreak of hostilities.
Substantial evidence suggests that the detainees under Hamas have been subjected to mistreatment, physical abuse, and in some cases, sexual assault.
According to Israel, Hamas has been denied access to the organization by the International Red Cross.
