PA reports on increased Palestinian "incidents of violence including the murder of a number of children, women, and young women"

Official PA TV program Palestine This Morning, on the proposed PA Law to Protect the Family From Violence

PA Minister of Women's Affairs Amal Hamad: “I want to say the idea of submitting [the Law to Protect the Family From Violence] came as a result of the incidents, like the incidents that we saw. In other words, recently we in the northern districts (i.e., the West Bank) and southern districts (i.e., the Gaza Strip) have seen more incidents of violence that have a connection to the murder of a number of children, the murder of a number of women, the murder of a number of young women, the harming of many of our families.

I want to say that this does not mean that our society does not have values, so that we will be clear. When you have unanticipated incidents in society, irregular incidents, incidents that have a connection to murder and violence, this does not mean that our society is outside the framework of values and morals. No, we are a society of values, morals, and honor, a society that is built on foundations of love, cooperation, and harmony.But within our society there are a number of negative phenomena.

Unfortunately, the actions that exist in the state [against domestic violence] have many gaps. We have checked our existing mechanisms over the years. The mechanisms of protection are not enough, even the [PA] police- the family attorney’s office, which the state thanked and which has carried out its role perfectly, is also fettered in many measures and needs a wider area in which to act. The family attorney’s office also has an important and essential role, but it needs additional actions and outlooks, which we are talking about. We are talking about familial protection that needs ‘protection supervisors’ who have the ability to reach every home, examine, and monitor every incident so that I will have a complete protection system.

Therefore, for 14 years we have researched and located the people’s needs and their priorities, we have seen where we have gaps and challenges, and accordingly the law began to be built clause [by] clause, according to the existing developments.”