<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Israel&#8217;s &#8216;disobedient women&#8217; questioned over illegal trips for&nbsp;Palestinians]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p class="stand-first-alone">Guardian.co.uk | Harriet Sherwood</p>
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<p class="stand-first-alone"><strong>Days out to Israel for West Bank women and children come under police scrutiny amid fears of rising intolerance</strong></p>
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<div id="article-wrapper"><img src="https://i1.wp.com/static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/9/16/1284662674698/Women-sit-on-a-Tel-Aviv-b-006.jpg" alt="Women sit on a Tel Aviv beach. Palestinians need a permit to enter Israel" width="460" height="276" /> Women sit on a Tel Aviv beach.  Photograph: Esti TsalIn a small village between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, I joined a  remarkable group of women and children for lunch last weekend, a noisy  and cheerful crowd enjoying plates of chicken, fish, rice and salad. All  of them were breaking the law.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The party consisted of around 20  mostly middle-aged Israeli women, slightly fewer and younger Palestinian  women and a handful of the latter&#8217;s children.</p>
<p>The Palestinians were from villages in the West Bank and therefore forbidden entry into <a title="More from guardian.co.uk on Israel" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/israel">Israel</a> without proper permits. The Israeli women had illegally brought them  across checkpoints for a day out – a journey that is both just a few  miles and an impossible distance.</p>
<p>This wasn&#8217;t the first occasion;  there have been previous trips to Tel Aviv and Jaffa and to the zoo in  Jerusalem. For many of the Palestinians, it is their first trip across  the Green Line into Israel. Earlier trips have been <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/if-there-is-a-heaven-1.290214">described by Ilana Hammerman</a>, one of the organisers, in the Israeli paper Haaretz, and by <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/16/palestinian-women-smuggled-israeli-beaches">Rachel Shabi in the Guardian</a> last September.</p>
<p>But  in recent weeks, the Israelis – who describe themselves as &#8220;women who  disobey&#8221; – have begun to be questioned individually by the police about  their actions. Some see this as part of a bigger picture of intolerance  and harassment of groups and individuals supporting co-existence, civil  and human rights, and opposing Israel&#8217;s occupation of Palestinian land.</p>
<p>Many  civil and human rights groups and politicians across the spectrum here  detect a growing campaign against those challenging the &#8220;norm&#8221; of  occupation. That, on a small and individual scale, is what these  disobedient women are doing.</p>
<p>Two weeks ago, Nitza Aminov was  questioned for an hour by police who took her fingerprints and  photograph for their records. She refused to answer their questions. She  told me that more women have been told to expect visits from the police  this week.</p>
<p>Another, Meira, said police intimidation would not  deter her from taking part in illegal days out. &#8220;If we have to sit in  jail as a result, we&#8217;ll sit in jail.&#8221;</p>
<p>Hammerman has been  questioned a few times, the first three months ago. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been public  about challenging the law, acting in an illegal way,&#8221; she told me.</p>
<p>The risks are greater for the Palestinian women, who are likely to face a harsh punishment if discovered illegally in Israel.</p>
<p>One  of them, Fida – who by lunchtime had replaced the headscarf she had  removed to get through the checkpoint – was not afraid of getting  caught. &#8220;The Jewish people don&#8217;t scare me – this is normal,&#8221; she said.</p>
<p>As  the group prepared to drive back to the West Bank in a sudden downpour,  thoughts turned towards navigating their way back through the  checkpoints. &#8220;We see that this is the way of life for Palestinians,&#8221;  said Meira.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/view-from-jerusalem-with-harriet-sherwood/2011/jan/17/israel-s-disobedient-women-illegal-trips">Israel&#8217;s &#8216;disobedient women&#8217; questioned over illegal trips for Palestinians | Harriet Sherwood | World news | guardian.co.uk</a>.</p>
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