Israeli Courts Sentence Palestinian Teenage Girls for Violent Attacks

A 19-year old Palestinian girl who stabbed an Israeli in the Old City of Jerusalem has been sentenced to 16-years in prison. In October 2015, Shurouq Dwayyat was shot by an Israeli civilian after she wounded him with a knife. Palestinian sources argue that she was first accosted by the Israeli and that she was not carrying a knife or any other weapon, but the Israeli Magistrate’s Court in Jerusalem ruled otherwise. Dwayyat’s case is being used by the Palestinian prisoners’ rights group Addameer to charge Israeli security personnel abuse women and girls. Since the outpouring of lone wolf attacks in October 15, 106 women and girls were arrested, a 70% increase over the previous year. Many of those were arrested in the act of assaulting police or civilians. One week ago a 15-year old Palestinian girl was sentenced to 1 ½ years in prison for attempting to stab a police officer.