Listening to the voices of Palestinian women is fundamental to understand the historical and current forms of genocide against the Palestinian people. In addition to exposing the more than 30,000 Palestinians killed by Israel since October 2023—of which nearly 25,000 were women and children—, Palestinian women have addressed how genocide is not simply about numbers, but it is rather an orchestrated policy. Genocide is an attack on the bases that sustain life: land, bodies, the everyday work of production and reproduction of Palestinian life.
Palestinian women are waging the struggle—they resist every day and face the brutality of imperialism against their bodies and territories. They call us to make the struggle for Free Palestine massive, from the river to the sea. As part of the 24 Hours of Feminist Solidarity, an action called by the World March of Women this March 30th, Palestinian Land Day, we echo Palestinian voices shared on March 21-22 during seminars organized by women with La Via Campesina and the World March of Women.
Palestinian Land
“This Land Day, everyone—from north, south, east, and west—is connected to defend this land, which has been and always will be Palestine. We are the last women who will live and endure the occupation that has been happening for more than 75 years of genocide.” This is how Maryam Abu Daqqa positions the Palestine mobilization on this Land Day.
A reflection by farmer Samah Abu Nimah brings us even closer to the reality of Palestinian women in their relationship with their land. “The occupation imposed restrictions on resources, demanding imported products that became very expensive. It’s worth noting that Palestinian women constitute 78% of the people responsible for agricultural work. Women participate in production processes such as planting, harvesting, and marketing. They also participate in raising livestock, and they take care of them, feed them until they can extract milk, for example. They produce dairy products and animal derivatives.”
Land Grabbing, a Violent Occupation Method
Nariman Bajawwi, who lives in Jenin, recalls that, “since 1948, when they started to confiscate our land and bring settlers to settle in the territory, the Zionists argue that this is a land without a people for a people without a land.” This argument is proven to be a fallacy by the land titles registered with the name of Palestinian women, dating back to 1858, published by Capire on Palestinian Land Day 2022.
Also in a piece published in 2022, our sister Khitam Saafin, who was in prison at the time, was unequivocal about the connection between Zionism and land grabbing. “In 1948, the Zionist movement, with all the support from colonial powers, destroyed more than 500 Palestinian villages and displaced its residents. It was responsible for the forced displacement of the majority of Palestinians from their towns and their replacement with Zionist settlers. This is how the establishment of the State of Israel was announced in these lands.”
She also addressed the continuity of this displacement process: “In 1967, waging a new colonial war, Israel managed to occupy other Arabic lands: the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, and parts of Lebanese lands. And it is still there, to this day, conducting operations to control lands in the West Bank, establishing settlements through military law. This is part of a number of consecutive plans, being the latest one the annexation plan announced in 2020 by the former prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, which aims to annex 33 percent of the West Bank to Israel.”
Keeping the settlements that already exist and building new ones is a colonizing practice adopted by Israel, as Nariman explains. Also, “the Apartheid wall, which spans across the West Bank, has led to confiscation and appropriation of many Palestinian territories. Many villages were separated by the wall. Israelis are managing and controlling these villages. Palestinians can’t get in or out without Israeli permission. Farmers cannot farm their lands, especially their olive trees, because they don’t have access to them.” “The olive season is considered a main pillar in the life of Palestinian people. Some families work throughout the year to take care of the land and olive trees, to harvest and press the fruits, produce oil and sell it to obtain a financial return for themselves and their daily life,” Samah explains.
Nariman looks into the impact of military attacks on Palestinian production: “The occupation has destroyed all infrastructure and services in Gaza. There is nothing left standing. This crisis will affect trade, farmers, access to fresh and saltwater.” Samah Abu Niman also reports the increasing obstacles following the escalation of Israeli attacks: “They became more than just obstacles, but complete prohibition from anything related to water, land, or even raising livestock. Many cases of settler attacks on farmers or peasants on their lands were recorded. The largest share of the affected were women, on whom most of the injuries are inflicted. Also, more attacks on women were recorded in many Palestinian villages, cities, and towns.”
Criminalization, Imprisonment, and Human Rights Violations
The young Palestinian Ruba Assi was arrested twice: when she was a university student and in October 2023. She was only released again in February 2024. “The first time, there was a campaign against students across the country. I was arrested with no charges, it was purely an administrative thing. After October 7th, everything was different from the first time,” she said.
Women arrested in Gaza are not allowed to contact anyone, are not entitled to talk to their families or hear news about the genocide. “They did not know if their children were dead. They were allowed fewer hours to receive visitors, less time in the yard. They were only allowed to leave their cells one day, to take a shower, to be in the yard. There was an extreme shortage of food, really poor quality food. There is no water in the prison. We had to drink water from rusty taps. All that makes people in prison die faster,” Ruba shared.
Since the beginning of the aggression and the genocide, the occupation targets women.
Raya Raduan
The activist Raya Raduan shares how women are treated in military camps: “If they refuse to be inspected or checked out, they might be beaten and the military deprive them of any rights, they threaten them of rape harassment, insults and, of course, if these women wear hijabs, the police take them off. Of course, there is no privacy.”
Message of Mothers Around the World
JahanBanou News Agency has gathered a piece with a message for all Palestinian mothers;