Palestinian woman reportedly taken into custody while reporting settler violence at her home

Israeli authorities have been holding a Palestinian woman in custody for almost a week after she filed a police complaint about settlers allegedly torching her home, according to a Haaretz report.

The woman has been charged in a military court with filing a false complaint and harming regional security. Police claim the fire in the southern West Bank hamlet of Khillet al-Farra was actually caused by an electrical failure.

The woman told Palestinian media hours after the fire overnight Wednesday-Thursday that she woke up in the middle of the night to noises from masked men outside speaking in Hebrew. She said she saw them pour flammable liquid into the house and set it on fire.

A WhatsApp group of settler extremists that shares footage of their attacks on Palestinians posted footage of the incident later that day before deleting the clip shortly thereafter.

When she went to file a complaint on Thursday at a nearby police station, authorities decided to take her into custody, Haaretz says.

At a remand hearing yesterday, police failed to present the court with the fire department’s final report on its findings from its probe into the fire.

A police statement hours after the fire overnight Wednesday-Thursday declared that it had not been caused by settlers. But a police representative at the hearing acknowledged that the matter is still being investigated and that arson had not yet been ruled out as a potential cause.

Justifying the charge against the woman for allegedly harming regional security, the police representative claimed spreading false information could lead to acts of revenge against Israelis.

Despite the apparent inconsistency in the police’s story, the court ordered that the woman’s remand be extended for four more days.