Following the reported strip-searching of five Palestinian women in Hebron in July, Saraya al-Quds has announced the beginning of operation ‘Revenge of the Free Women,’ claiming, “We are coming to disgrace you.” Based in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, the al-Quds Brigades was founded in 1981, as the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
An affiliated Telegram Channel relayed the brigade’s statements, ““The Elon Moreh” and “shaked” colonies have already been struck by the blessed bullets of Islamic jihad. More counter attacks are on the way” continuing, “Victory to the Falasteeni Resistance! Death to the tumor!”
Elon Moreh and Shaked are both Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
According to the Times of Israel, after a probe by Israeli human rights group B’Tselem “25-30 soldiers, some of them wearing masks, entered three adjoining apartments, home to the extended Ajlouni family in southern Hebron, to search for weapons. During the search, two female soldiers with rifles and an attack dog reportedly forced five women of the family, aged between 17 and 53, to undress, threatening to unleash the dog if they did not comply, while male soldiers searched their male relatives without making such a requirement.”
An IDF spokesperson speaking to Israeli publication Haaretz said the raid came as a result of intelligence regarding the possible existence of weapons in the residence; one M16 rifle and ammunition were confiscated.
The comments come during a time when Israeli-Palestinian tensions are rising again, with various attacks on IDF personnel and on Palestinians occurring in the past weeks.
