Three women arrested in Israel for placing leaflets calling for the release of hostages in a synagogue

September 14 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Three women were arrested and later released on Friday in Israel on charges of breaking and entering after placing leaflets calling for the release of hostages in a synagogue in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv.

The leaflets contained pictures of six of the people taken hostage by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on 7 October. They were four women, members of the Israeli army, and Ariel and Kfir Bibas, the two youngest children among those abducted.

The photos also included a photograph of former minister and Likud MP Yuli Edelstein during his time in a prison in the former Soviet Union, accompanied by the caption “Let my people go,” a popular rallying cry among supporters of the Jewish “refuseniks,” the Times of Israel reported.

During the Cold War, this term was used to refer to Jewish citizens of the Soviet Union who were refused permission to leave the country. In Israel, since 2002, it has been used to refer to those Israeli military personnel who have refused to work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, on the grounds that they are contributing to the illegal occupation and to the humiliation and mistreatment of the civilian population.

The detainees distributed the leaflets in a synagogue in the coastal city of Herzliya, where Edelstei goes to pray. She has not yet commented on the incident.

In statements reported by the aforementioned media, the accused have argued that they are “three normal women who (entered) an open synagogue,” while lawyer Ran Tagar has denounced that it is a “political” arrest.

The women were released after eight hours of questioning at a police station in the coastal town, as hundreds of supporters gathered outside, the Times of Israel reported.