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Edna Erez and Anat Berko
22 The warden of the prison that houses the women stated that “often the women tell me that
they have more freedom in the prison than they have at home.”
23 It is not uncommon for Palestinian women to marry their cousins, as marriages are often
arranged and take place between relatives. At the same time, divorcing a cousin may be
problematic, as it put strain on the relationship between close family members (uncles
etc.).
24 The mother is a strong element in Palestinian society, being loved and revered by
offspring. When asked what would could have stopped him from perpetrating the suicide
bombing, one of the male suicide bomber stated “only my mother” (see Berko and Erez,
2005)
25 It is often the case that families, or young daughters interested in getting married, would
object to marriage if the prospective groom is involved in terrorism (unless he is a highly
respected activist); the prospects of losing the man of the family attenuates the desire to
be married and have children, a deep wish expressed by all women interviewed. At the
same time, such circumstances of unmarried women make it easy for these men to recruit
females who want to be with them but cannot do it due to family objections. Often the
women, who are enamored with these men and would like to marry them, would be
willing to do anything the men would ask them to do, including engagement in terrorism.
26 Other support functions that women often fill include gathering information.
27 The activities reported by the women in the study are typical of most women involved in
violations of security offenses, though recently a new type of women’s involvement was
revealed, in which the bank accounts of Palestinian women were used to transfer funds to
terrorist organizations.
28 Security offenses committed by Israeli Arabs are tried by the regular (civilian) Israeli
courts.
29 Situations that require closed court proceedings include cases in which the behavior at
issue involves gender-related moral turpitude, or acts that have “family honor”
implications, and cases in which minors are involved. Other situations include cases
where the safety of defendants or witnesses may be at risk due to testimony or disclosure
of various details (protection of defendants and/or witnesses), and attempts to prevent
security risks due to the nature of information disclosed in the proceedings (protection of
state secrets).
30 Following procedural rules of military court, at the conclusion of the prosecution and the
defense arguments, the two sides often arrive at a plea bargain. Pleas must include the
agreed upon facts and, at times, a proposed sentence. The court may accept the suggested
sentence or may use its discretion to impose a different penalty.
31 The support has decreased since the Hamas gained power in the Palestinian authorities.
Recently, the various terrorist organizations to which the defendants belong (such as the
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