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  • Breakthrough? Palestinian Women Murdered, Muslims Condemn ‘Honor Killing’

    09.05.2019 | News | |

    Surge Summary: The apparent murder of an Palestinian young woman by her family is sparking open protests from Muslims around the world against so-called “honor killings”.

    An encouraging, international reaction to a truly monstrous story …

    Emily Jones/CBN News reports: hundreds of Palestinian women poured out into the streets of Ramallah Monday demanding justice for a young woman allegedly murdered by her own family last month in what is believed to have been a gruesome honor killing.

    Israa Ghrayeb was a 21-year-old Palestinian makeup artist from Bethlehem. She passed away in the hospital on August 22 after she was reportedly beaten and tortured by her family. Her offense?  Posting social media video of her on a chaperoned date with a man she was engaged to marry.

    It’s reported Israa’s brother Ihab, a Canadian resident, was infuriated by the footage because it revealed his sister spending time with her fiancé before their official wedding ceremony.

    The New Arab reports that Israa’s brother was instructed by their father to beat her after relatives saw the video online.

    Israa reportedly tried to escape the violent attack and broke her spine after falling off the second-story of her family home.

    The family released a statement saying Israa intentionally jumped from the balcony after being “possessed by demons.”

    From her hospital room, the gravely injured woman later posted a picture on Instagram saying she’d be unable to work because she was awaiting spinal surgery.

    “I’m strong and I have the will to live – if I didn’t have this willpower, I would have died yesterday,” Israa said. “Don’t send me messages telling me to be strong, I am strong. May God be the judge of those who oppressed me and hurt me.”

    But the outrage worsens: a second assault supposedly occurred. This one while Israa was still in the hospital, after the family locked themselves in her room.

    Footage taken by a hospital nurse outside her room appeared on social media and depicts her screaming and begging for her life during the alleged attack.

    The circumstances surrounding her death are unclear and reports claim she died days after being attacked in the hospital.

    Israa’s family denies any wrongdoing and said the 21-year-old simply died from a heart attack.

    So let’s be frank: it appears we are dealing here with an idiot brother, a moronic father and a demented family.

    Yet, in what could be classified as a luminous instance of a positive development emerging out of a ghastly chain of events, the response to Israa’s death has, perhaps, not been what her malevolent clan expected. Her killing has shaken the Arab world. Many online and in the West Bank have been provoked to condemn honor killings and violence against women.

    An Arabic hashtag which translates to #WeAreAllIsraa and #JusticeforIsraa is trending online.

    US Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American congresswoman, also used the hashtag to … demand justice for Israa.

    Muslim men and women activists online said honor killings are serious issues and encouraged others to speak up against the practice.

    Meanwhile, protestors in Ramallah urged Palestinian officials to hold Israa’s alleged murderers accountable.

    “There is a criminal suspicion in this case,” said Suhair Farraj, one of the protesters told The Associated Press. “We demand a serious investigation.”

    The Palestinian Authority’s minister of women’s affairs, has assured the protestors that justice is coming:

    “If there was a crime the perpetrator will be tried,” Amal Hamad pledged. She said PA President Mahmoud Abbas instructed her to follow up on the matter.

    Women’s rights researcher Halima Abu Salb charges Palestinian leaders have done little to halt violence against women.

    “If the Palestinian Authority wants to apply the international conventions that it has joined, it needs to change the whole set of laws. Until now these laws are old and full of flaws that can let violent perpetrators get away or get lenient punishments.”

    Those global Muslims who insist Islam is, genuinely, a “religion of peace” must publicly and insistently denounce and take practical action against these kinds of atrocities. If Muslims worldwide really do reject violence they cannot be silent; watching nations need to see them unambiguously speaking out and implementing measures to make sure egregious cases like that of Israa Ghrayeb aren’t repeated; ever again.

    H/T: Emily Jones/CBN News

    Image by Thanks for your Like • donations welcome from Pixabay 


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