ICSPR condemns the murder of a wife at the hands of her husband in the West Bank, and calls for the speedy adoption of the Family Protection Law.

Ref: 141/2021

Date: 22 Nov 2021

Original Lang: Arabic

Press release,

ICSPR condemns the murder of a wife at the hands of her husband in the West Bank, and calls for the speedy adoption of the Family Protection Law.

The International Commission to Support Palestinians’ Rights (ICSPR) condemns and denounces in the strongest possible terms, the horrific murder committed by the citizen (A. A.), against his young wife, “Sabreen Yasser Khweira” (30 yr), this morning “Monday, November 22” in the village of Kafr Nima, west of Ramallah. The murderer also assaulted his mother (75 yr), and subsequently was transferred to the city’s medical complex for treatment.

According to the data, the Palestinian police arrested the murderer hours after the execution of his crime with a knife inside their house, and there were traces of blood on his clothes.

According to the sources, (A.A.) has a history of drug abuse, and he was arrested by the security services more than once, the last of which was a short time ago, and he had a history of assaulting his wife, who works in the Lands Settlement Office in Kafr Nima, and supports three children, the oldest of whom is 9 Years.

ICSPR expresses its sadness for the recurrence of such incidents in the Palestinian territories and reiterates its concern about the increase in incidents of gender-based violence, and considers that the continuation of manifestations of violence against women in Palestinian society leads us to a dilapidated society.

We are getting closer to a global occasion to eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination against women, which is a global campaign that lasts (16) days annually against gender-based violence, to highlight global and international efforts to eliminate violence against women, which requires the creation of an enabling atmosphere, especially in light of the data of the World Health Organization, which indicate that about 37% of women who had a partner at any time in the past in the eastern Mediterranean region have been subjected to physical or sexual violence from the partner at some point in their lives. In addition to other forms of violence, including murders on various backgrounds. Accordingly:

• ICSPR stresses the need to take maximum measures to reduce incidents of violence against women, including killings on various backgrounds, by adopting policy plans and enacting strict and modern laws to protect the family from violence.
• ICSPR calls on the Public Prosecution in the West Bank to open a serious investigation into the circumstances of this and similar incidents, and to publish its results publicly, including imposing severe penalties against its perpetrators, in order to achieve public and private deterrence.
• ICSPR stresses the need for the Palestinian authorities to fulfill their obligations in the field of harmonizing the provisions of national laws with the provisions of the international conventions and treaties to which it has acceded, including the International Convention against All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
• ICSPR calls on the government and civil institutions to find solutions to the growing incidents of violence against women, by allocating sufficient resources in budgets for activities to eradicate this violence, and by achieving equal roles between men and women.

ICSPR