Rima Nazzal: The occupation used Palestinian women as a systematic tool of revenge after demonizing them and inciting against them because they give birth to resistance fighters

Amal Jumaa: The current war has left thousands of women missing and displaced, and has increased their suffering in light of the complex loss they are experiencing.

Dr. Sahar Al-Qawasmeh: There is a real fight against Palestinian women’s institutions that are subjected to pressure from the occupation and funders

Ilham Sami: Our responsibility is to rewrite history through March 8 to reflect our sacrifices and struggle for freedom and justice.

Amal Khreisha: The “Women, Peace and Security Agenda” adopted by the United Nations remained ink on paper despite calls to use all tools of international justice

Dr. Samah Jaber: Palestinian women suffer from double psychological trauma due to war and occupation, which requires developing a systematic plan to support them

International Women's Day falls on March 8th this year, amidst the systematic Israeli crimes against Palestinian women, which have left profound impacts on their psychological, social and economic lives, as a result of the recent aggressive Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

According to activists and feminist officials in separate interviews with “I”, this brutal war has exacerbated women’s suffering, as they face double challenges due to the loss of loved ones, displacement, and deprivation of basic rights, such as health, education, and work.

Feminist activists and officials stress that human rights organizations and the international community bear a legal and moral responsibility to protect Palestinian women and children, but the reality indicates a great failure in this role. Despite documenting violations, international condemnations remain ink on paper in the absence of effective implementation mechanisms to hold criminals accountable, which encourages the occupation to continue its crimes without fear of consequences.

The catastrophic consequences of the current war on women

Rima Nazzal, a member of the General Secretariat of the General Union of Women and a member of the National Council, warns of the disastrous repercussions of the Israeli war of aggression on Palestinian women and their deliberate targeting, as evidenced by statistics, stressing that they bear the burdens of displacement and suffering like all members of society, but they face a double privacy that makes their suffering greater due to the women’s privacy and their increasing responsibilities, as their care burdens have increased and become heavier, amidst the lack of security and social and economic exposure.

She points out that the war of extermination in the Gaza Strip and the widespread destruction and displacement of the camps in the northern West Bank directly affected women, as thousands of women lost their husbands, children and relatives, which made them face many social, economic, humanitarian and health challenges.

According to Nazzal, statistics indicate that there are more than 20,000 widows in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli war, which doubles their economic, social and psychological burdens.

Nazzal confirms that women in Gaza have borne the burden of providing food and basic necessities for their families, in light of the occupation’s policy that relies on starvation warfare by preventing humanitarian aid and preventing the entry of food and medical supplies.

Nazal explains that the destruction of the health infrastructure in the Gaza Strip has led to a serious health disaster, as pregnant women who need safe births are at great risk due to their unsafe births after the destruction of the health system and hospitals, as women have given birth in displacement centers and homes, which has put their lives and the lives of their children at risk in the absence of medical care.

In the context of crimes committed against women, Nazzal explains that the occupation used Palestinian women as a systematic tool of revenge, as they were subjected to killing, arrest, and brutal torture. Cases of harassment and rape committed by occupation soldiers were also documented, stressing that female detainees from the Gaza Strip were subjected to more severe torture motivated by revenge.

Nazzal confirms that there is systematic Israeli incitement against Palestinian women and their demonization, as Israeli figures have worked to demonize them and consider them responsible for giving birth to resistance fighters, and the incitement campaigns have reached the point of calling for the rape of Palestinian women, in a direct and clear targeting of Palestinian women as part of the psychological war and political and military revenge.

Regarding international positions, Nazzal criticizes the international neutrality and silence regarding what Palestinian women are exposed to, considering that these positions range between instability and ambiguity, as they have not risen to the level of responsibility required to stop Israeli crimes.

Nazzal points out that international institutions, despite their relative interaction, need to take more stringent positions, and move from the circle of neutrality to decisive positions that do justice to the victims, and work to hold Israeli war criminals accountable for the serious violations they commit in general and against Palestinian women in particular.

More than 12 thousand martyrs since October 7

Writer and media professional specializing in women's issues, Amal Juma, confirms that the entire Palestinian people are suffering from the violation of their right to life and survival, in light of the violent colonial attack they are being subjected to in the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem.

Jumaa points out that Palestinian women suffer doubly, as the number of female martyrs since October 7, 2023 has exceeded 12,000, while this number doubles for children, leading to the disintegration and fragmentation of the Palestinian family and the loss of all its basic rights to life, health and education.

Jumaa asserts that women have lost all the necessities of life, including home, breadwinner, family, and food, at a time when they have become the ones relied upon to sustain the family and strengthen its pillars, just as happened in the 1948 Nakba and the wars and aggression that followed.

Jumaa points out that the current war has left thousands of women missing, displaced and homeless, which greatly increases their suffering, especially in light of the complex loss they are experiencing.

Jumaa explains that the most prominent suffering of women was represented by the difficult conditions of childbirth in the Gaza Strip, where there are no components of the necessary health care, and in many cases it is completely absent, in addition to women being exposed to multiple diseases, most notably malnutrition.

She stresses that the loss of mothers is the most difficult violation, as more than 17,000 children were orphaned as a result of losing their parents.

Jumaa points out that the local response in Gaza only meets the needs of women and children to a very limited extent, while the international community remains silent about what is happening.

Jumaa points out that despite the unofficial positions issued by some international non-governmental organizations, these positions remain insufficient to provide effective protection and relief to the Palestinian people, which deepens the suffering of women in the Palestinian territories.

Jumaa criticizes the decline in the positions of international institutions concerned with women’s rights, pointing out that international resolution 1325, which calls for the protection of women in conflict situations, has not been translated into practice in the Palestinian case.

She stresses that this resolution, which should be binding and implemented by the Security Council, has remained in the drawers and has not been translated into tangible steps to protect Palestinian women, which reflects a failure to implement international standards to protect women’s rights in Palestine.

Jumaa warns that the continuation of this situation will lead to the collapse of the idea of the international rights system as an effective body in protecting women’s rights, which will reinforce the troubled relationship between the Palestinians and the international community.

Serious violations and a bitter reality that is renewed every day

The General Director of Adwar Foundation for Social Change, Dr. Sahar Al-Qawasmeh, confirms that March 8th of this year comes in a painful context in the Palestinian territories, as the crimes of the Israeli occupation continue to increasingly affect the lives of Palestinian women.

She explains that women in various Palestinian territories, from the northern West Bank to the Gaza Strip, suffer from serious violations and a bitter reality that is renewed every day.

Al-Qawasmeh points out that women in the northern West Bank suffer from the effects of forced displacement due to the occupation’s practices, as homes have been demolished and families displaced. The greatest suffering lies in mothers losing their homes, which are the places that hold their memories, in addition to the suffering resulting from the lack of privacy and cleanliness, and their deprivation of sleep, in addition to the suffering of women and girls in particular who are disabled.

Al-Qawasmeh points out that women in the northern West Bank, particularly those displaced from the camps, face great difficulties in accessing education and health services, which further complicates their situation.

In the Gaza Strip, Al-Qawasmeh explains that women suffer from the loss of loved ones, some of whom have not yet been found, which increases the bitterness of life. Women in Gaza also suffer from difficulties in obtaining shelter and basic services as a result of the Israeli blockade, which deepens their suffering.

Al-Qawasmeh confirms that women in the Old City of Hebron live in harsh conditions, as their lives are exposed to dangers as a result of the practices of the occupation and settlers, including continuous attacks and threats. Women in Area C and Bedouin camps are also exposed to continuous attacks by the occupation army and settlers, in addition to the theft of sheep and agricultural crops, which constitute their main source of livelihood.

She points out that women in Jerusalem suffer from constant oppression, as they are forced to be “prisoners” for their children, as well as suffering from the occupation’s policies of demolishing homes and depriving them of access to holy places and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Al-Qawasmeh confirms that under these circumstances, Palestine is witnessing a significant increase in poverty and unemployment rates after the last war on October 7, 2023, as women have lost many of their projects and businesses due to Israeli measures that prevent access to workplaces or the existence of obstacles to accessing their projects or marketing their products.

Despite the existence of periodic reports from women's organizations to international human rights organizations, Al-Qawasmeh confirms that these reports have not led to any effective response from the international community or real accountability for the occupation for its crimes, stressing that the global popular movement supporting the Palestinian cause must be invested in stopping the occupation's practices.

On the other hand, Al-Qawasmeh points to the weak funding of Palestinian women's institutions during this critical period, which hinders the provision of the necessary support to Palestinian women.

Al-Qawasmeh confirms that there is a real fight against Palestinian women’s institutions that are subjected to pressure from the occupation and funders, which limits women’s ability to strengthen their steadfastness and continue their struggle in the face of the occupation.

The falsity of global slogans about human rights and equality

Ilham Sami, a member of the Social Aid Society, confirms that March 8, International Women’s Day, comes this year to expose the falsehood of the global slogans that sing of human rights and equality, while standing helpless in the face of the ongoing crimes and violations against Palestinian women.

Sami stresses that "International Women's Day puts the global feminist movement to the test, especially in light of the international failure to face the killing, arrest and displacement of Palestinian women as a result of the policies of the Israeli occupation."

She points out that what is happening in Palestine reveals the colonial view of the countries of the North towards the women of the South, as these countries have not moved a finger in the face of the massacres and systematic violations practiced by Israel with the support of the imperialist powers.

Sami explains that women and children constitute about 70% of the martyrs in the Gaza Strip, in light of the war of extermination waged by Israel, which was not limited to deliberate killing, but also included arbitrary detention of women, as female prisoners suffer from inhumane detention conditions, including isolation, solitary confinement, deprivation of food and treatment, psychological and physical abuse, and even sexual assaults that reached the level of rape, according to human rights reports.

Sami points out that the occupation has carried out systematic displacement operations against the residents of northern Gaza, and destroyed women’s homes and economic projects, which has deprived them of sources of income and social security, not to mention the destruction of agricultural lands and the theft of resources, which has led to food insecurity.

In the northern West Bank, Sami points to the ongoing Israeli military escalation against the Jenin, Nur Shams, Tulkarm, Al-Far’a, Tamoun, and Tubas camps, and the Bedouin areas in the Jordan Valley, where these areas are subjected to daily attacks by the occupation forces and settlers who commit their crimes against people, trees, and animals, amidst the protection and support of the Israeli army.

Sami confirms that more than 40,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from the northern West Bank, which led to the dispersion of women from their homes, husbands, and children, in addition to the collapse of the necessities of life, as a result of the comprehensive destruction and the strict siege imposed by the occupation.

Sami points out that hospitals in Tulkarm and Jenin were directly targeted, depriving women of health care and basic medical services.

Sami criticizes the silence of the international community, saying: “The crimes taking place in Palestine have not risen to the level of serious action by international bodies, governments, and organizations to stop the occupation and end the suffering of the Palestinians. On the contrary, there are those who seek to justify the occupation’s violations by distorting the facts and issuing shameful statements condemning the Palestinian people instead of defending their rights.”

She points out that some UN organizations have limited their roles to providing humanitarian relief, ignoring the fact that the occupation is the root cause of all these crises.

Despite this failure, Sami asserts that free peoples have played a pivotal role in raising awareness about the Palestinian cause, as student movements in several countries have contributed to strengthening the boycott against Israel and pressuring governments to take stricter positions towards the occupation.

Sami calls on global feminist movements to support Palestinian women and recognize the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the right of refugees to return, stressing the need to reformulate the concept of March 8 to be a platform for struggle that contributes to igniting a real revolution against colonialism and injustice, and raising the voice of Palestinian women in international forums.

“It is our responsibility as Palestinian women to make March 8 a platform for our voice, through which we rewrite history to reflect our sacrifices and our ongoing struggle for freedom and justice,” Sami says.

International failure to provide protection for Palestinian women

The General Director of the Palestinian Working Women's Society for Development, Amal Khreisha, confirms that with the advent of International Women's Day, Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, face serious violations by the Israeli occupation, amid the failure of the international system to provide protection for them.

Khreisha explains that the war of extermination witnessed in the Gaza Strip claimed the lives of thousands of women and children, and that the siege imposed on Gaza, the closure of the crossings, and the prevention of the entry of aid after the ceasefire, exacerbated the suffering of Gazan women who face war crimes and serious violations that affected their health, psychological, economic, and political rights.

Khreisha points out that human rights reports issued by national and international bodies documented the martyrdom of 12,316 women out of 48,346 martyrs to date, while women and children constitute 70% of the victims, which reveals the extent of the systematic targeting of the most vulnerable groups. In addition, 70% of the missing in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli aggression are women and children, with the number of missing persons reaching 14,222.

Khreisha points out that the occupation forces have arrested 450 women since the beginning of the war until February 25, 2025, while 18 female prisoners are still languishing in the occupation prisons, where they are subjected to physical and psychological torture, up to sexual violence, in a flagrant violation of international law.

Since October 7, 2023, the relevant institutions have documented (490) cases of arrest among women in various Palestinian territories, of whom 21 remain in Israeli occupation prisons currently.

As for the social impact of the war, 17,861 children were killed, causing an unprecedented humanitarian tragedy, while 13,901 women face a difficult reality after losing their husbands, becoming the sole breadwinners for their families, which forces them to bear heavy economic and educational burdens in the absence of any effective international support.

She touched on the escalation of Israeli crimes in the West Bank, where the occupation forces have intensified raids, arrests, house demolitions and forced displacement of residents, in addition to the spread of 898 military checkpoints and gates that impede the movement of Palestinians, which has particularly affected women and girls, whether in access to basic services or job opportunities.

Khreisha confirms that the occupation used sexual violence as a tool of oppression, as she documented cases of Palestinian girls being stripped at the Shuafat and Container checkpoints, in addition to the girls’ bodies being searched in a humiliating manner by Israeli soldiers, in a serious violation of human rights and human dignity.

She criticizes the failure of the international community to provide protection for Palestinian women and children, noting that the “Women, Peace and Security Agenda” adopted by the United Nations has remained ink on paper, despite repeated demands by the feminist movement to use all tools of international justice, including international humanitarian law and international criminal law, to hold Israeli war criminals accountable.

Khreisha explains that human rights efforts focused on documenting Israeli violations and raising the Palestinian voice in international forums, where advocacy and pressure campaigns were intensified in meetings with diplomatic missions and the European Union in Brussels and Strasbourg, to confront the fabricated Israeli narrative about the events of October 7.

Khreisha points to the role played by Palestinian women in relief work, developing economic initiatives, and providing psychological, health, and legal support to those affected, in addition to women’s efforts to pressure for achieving national unity and ending the division, considering this a basic condition for rebuilding the Palestine Liberation Organization as a comprehensive national liberation movement.

She explained that the United Nations will hold its 69th annual session of the Commission on the Status of Women during the period from March 8 to 21, with the participation of Palestinian women’s organizations and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, where it will demand an end to the occupation by implementing the UN General Assembly resolution issued last September, which approved the end of the occupation within a year according to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, and 124 countries voted in favor of it.

Khreisha confirms that the Palestinian delegation will work to convey the voice of women in the Gaza Strip, through live and recorded testimonies that highlight their suffering as a result of war, siege and occupation.

She points out that the global feminist movement has begun to take a more solidarity-oriented approach to the Palestinian cause, as the session is witnessing an atmosphere of popular support, in addition to the support of some governments, which establishes a joint feminist action that seeks to dismantle the foundations based on power and patriarchal thought, not justice, that govern the Security Council, and this was evident in the American veto in threatening peace and security in Palestine, the region and the world.

Khreisha affirms that the Palestinian women's movement will continue its struggle to end the occupation, achieve justice and accountability, calling on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities towards Palestinian women, and stop complicity with the Israeli occupation, which continues its violations without deterrence.

Profound and long-lasting psychological, social and economic effects

Psychiatric consultant Dr. Samah Jabr confirms that women’s and children’s rights cannot be discussed in isolation from wars, especially in Palestine, where the impact of the violations practiced by the occupation against Palestinian women is exacerbated, leading to deep and long-term psychological, social and economic effects.

Jabr explains that wars leave deep psychological scars on all those who live in them, but women experience double the effects due to the additional social roles and responsibilities they bear during conflicts.

She stresses that Palestinian women suffer from double psychological trauma due to war and occupation, which requires developing a systematic plan to support them.

Jabr points out that women who experience severe psychological trauma as a result of major losses and bereavement often face long-term disorders such as depression, anxiety, panic, and complex loss. These disorders are reflected in their entire lives and their maternal role, as the mother may suffer from feelings of anxiety and inability to protect her children and provide them with the necessary security, which undermines her ability to perform her societal role.

Jabr stresses that wars increase the risk of women being subjected to physical and psychological gender-based violence, noting that oppressed societies that are unable to confront the occupying power may vent their anger on the weaker groups within them, such as women, children and other vulnerable groups.

Jabr explains that many women are reluctant to disclose the violence they experience during wars, due to fear of social stigma or a feeling that there is no legitimacy to talk about their suffering in light of the general devastation facing society.

Jaber points out that Palestinian women are not just victims, but rather makers of life amidst the destruction, playing key roles in caring for the family and rebuilding the social fabric, despite the systematic violations they are subjected to.

She stresses that war casts a dark shadow over their lives, as they are exposed to the loss of loved ones, displacement, torture, and deprivation of the right to health, education, and work.

Jabr spoke about the most prominent violations that Palestinian women are exposed to, including direct killing as a result of bombing, arbitrary arrest accompanied by torture and ill-treatment, and sexual abuse or threats thereof as a means of humiliating families and society.

Jabr points out the destruction of homes, which leaves women and children homeless and in harsh living conditions.

As for children, Jabr confirms that they are the most vulnerable victims, as they are deprived of their childhood and live in an environment saturated with fear and insecurity.

She points out that the bombing and destruction make children witness shocking scenes such as the bodies of their relatives under the rubble, or the arrest of their parents in front of their eyes, which leaves deep psychological effects that may last with them throughout their lives. In addition, the destruction of schools and infrastructure deprives them of their right to education, which increases the likelihood of their exposure to poverty and exploitation in the future.

Jabr criticizes the failure of the international community and human rights organizations to take decisive measures to protect Palestinian women and children, stressing that reports of violations are documented, but international condemnations remain “ink on paper” in the absence of effective implementation mechanisms, which encourages the occupation to continue its crimes without deterrence, noting that there is a clear duality in international standards for redressing victims.

She stresses that humanitarian organizations face major challenges in providing assistance to Palestinian women and children, as Israel prevents the entry of medical relief teams and food aid, which exacerbates the humanitarian situation.

Jaber stressed that protecting Palestinian women and children requires a radical change in the way this issue is dealt with, stressing that it is not enough to provide temporary aid or launch solidarity campaigns, but there must be actual accountability for war criminals through international courts, and the imposition of binding sanctions on the occupation, just as happens in human rights violations in other parts of the world.

She points out that empowering Palestinian women requires long-term programs to enhance their resilience, whether in the health, psychological or economic fields, calling for continuous global popular and institutional pressure, stressing that change does not come only from official decisions, but from the power of the street and solidarity movements that impose their agenda on decision-makers.

“Palestinian women have proven that they are capable of steadfastness and resistance, but the responsibility to protect them falls on everyone, because the issue is not only the issue of the Palestinians, but the issue of everyone who believes in justice and human dignity,” says Jaber.