Injustice Unveiled: Elderly Palestinian with Alzheimer’s Wrongfully Detained by Israeli Forces
Watan-The Hebrew newspaper “Haaretz” reported that Israeli soldiers arrested an elderly Palestinian woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, considering her an “unlawful combatant.” They transferred her to Damon Prison in northern Israel, where she stayed for about two months before being released after an appeal.
Israeli soldiers arrested “Fahmiyya al-Khaldi” in early December in a school in the Gaza Strip after she fled her home due to Israeli army shelling.
Refused Release
Because, according to the newspaper, she was considered an “unlawful combatant,” Damon Prison in northern Israel also rejected a request submitted by a lawyer from the Physicians for Human Rights organization. A meeting with a lawyer was denied, and she was only released after the appeal.
Her Arrest Not Known to Family
Al-Khaldi’s children learned about their mother’s arrest from neighbors but could not determine her whereabouts because Israel has consistently refused to provide any information about the location of detainees to the families and human rights organizations since the beginning of the war on Gaza.
Informed by Another Lawyer
The “Physicians for Human Rights” organization accidentally learned that al-Khaldi was held in Damon Prison, as another lawyer, who was visiting female prisoners from the West Bank, found out about an elderly woman from Gaza who couldn’t speak and had difficulty moving. The lawyer informed the family and provided al-Khaldi’s personal information to the Physicians for Human Rights organization.
Execution of Dozens of Elderly
The “Mediterranean Observatory for Human Rights” announced in a statement last December that the Israeli army executed dozens of elderly Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during direct shooting operations by occupation soldiers.
The human rights organization stated that this incredibly vulnerable group of civilians suffered twice, as Israel has targeted all people in the Strip since the start of the ongoing genocide against Palestinians on October 7.
The observatory, in its statement, revealed that it documented a preliminary toll of 1,049 elderly males and females martyred during 76 days of the aggression, approximately 1% of the total number of elderly people in Gaza, which is 107,000. This accounts for about 3.9% of the total Palestinian martyrs during the Israeli aggression, either under the rubble of their homes or in the shelters they sought refuge in.
The organization, based in Geneva, mentioned receiving horrifying testimonies about field killings and executions of individuals over 60 years old. These incidents included soldiers immediately opening fire on elderly individuals after ordering them to evacuate their homes. In some cases, they were executed moments after being released, after hours or days of arbitrary detention.
