Israel extends detention of Palestinian women’s national football player Rand Halawani

Israeli authorities on Wednesday extended the detention of Palestinian women’s national football team player Rand Halawani until Friday, according to Palestinian officials.

The Jerusalem Governorate said Halawani was summoned for questioning Tuesday at the Talpiot police station in West Jerusalem before being detained and brought before a court, which ordered her detention extended.

It did not specify the reasons for her summons or arrest.

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) said separately that former women’s national team player Natalie Abu Diya, a student at Birzeit University, was also arrested Tuesday after Israeli forces raided her residence.

The PFA said the arrests came amid continued Israeli restrictions on Palestinian athletes, citing the recent travel ban imposed on footballer Musab Abu Salem.

Israeli authorities stopped Abu Salem at the Allenby Bridge crossing, questioned him and prevented him from traveling to Italy with the Palestine Stars team, it said.

The team was scheduled to play a solidarity and humanitarian match against a Napoli Stars selection in support of the Palestinian people, according to Palestinian media reports.

The occupied West Bank has witnessed escalating Israeli military raids, arrests and settlement expansion since the start of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

At least 1,168 Palestinians have since been killed, 12,666 injured, 23,000 arrested and 33,000 displaced in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian government media office.