When a young woman was admitted to Al Hussein hospital with a fractured spine and bruises on her body and face, doctors began to treat yet another case of traumatic injury.
Everyone here was used to young patients arriving with devastating wounds.
The hospital is located close to the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, whose streets lead past packed suburban refugee camps to Israeli army checkpoints and the foreboding separation barrier - all frequent flashpoints for violence.
But Israa Ghrayeb's story was different.
It would unravel into tragedy, protest and much soul-searching over the protection of women from gender-based violence in Palestinian society.
Less than a fortnight after her initial admission on 10 August, Israa was brought to hospital again but this time the doctors could do nothing. She was dead.
Israa came from a conservative family where strict social rules guide courtship between young women and men, and her use of social media would become a focal point amid the disputed circumstances that led up to her death.
She is believed to have posted to friends on social media a photo of herself and her fiancé in a coffee shop. The contents of the account have since been deleted.
According to local media coverage in the days after her death, family members regarded her being seen publicly with a man as dishonourable - even though they consented to the relationship.
Her injuries were explained as being self-inflicted. Her brother-in-law, Mohammed Safi, said she suffered from mental health problems and fell from a balcony at home - a claim prosecutors have since described as "invalid".
A smiling Israa posted pictures of her injuries online, apologising for having to postpone make-up appointments, adding: "My spine is broken and I have a surgery today. If the surgery goes well I will let you know and if not I will have to cancel everything."
Her case may have ended there, had it not been for a Palestinian Facebook group called Do You Know Him? in which users "expose" men who mistreat women or cheat on their spouses.
The group posted a recording of what it alleged was Israa screaming while being beaten by her brothers, brother-in-law and father in hospital.
Prosecutors said last week the tape merged two clips recorded seven hours apart, while the hospital categorically denies she was beaten on its premises.
But the claims in the Facebook group began to spread, and concern about Israa's story snowballed.
The group also published WhatsApp conversations between Israa and her cousins in which she said she went out with a man who would soon be her fiancé, with the consent of her family.
Yes this case is from 2019 but people thought she died from illness until that expose. The doctors knew she was killed but they technically helped hide it. At least in America, suspected abuse or violence is meant to by reported. It’s called being a mandated reporter under the law.
Everyone here was used to young patients arriving with devastating wounds.
The hospital is located close to the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, whose streets lead past packed suburban refugee camps to Israeli army checkpoints and the foreboding separation barrier - all frequent flashpoints for violence.
But Israa Ghrayeb's story was different.
It would unravel into tragedy, protest and much soul-searching over the protection of women from gender-based violence in Palestinian society.
Less than a fortnight after her initial admission on 10 August, Israa was brought to hospital again but this time the doctors could do nothing. She was dead.
Israa came from a conservative family where strict social rules guide courtship between young women and men, and her use of social media would become a focal point amid the disputed circumstances that led up to her death.
She is believed to have posted to friends on social media a photo of herself and her fiancé in a coffee shop. The contents of the account have since been deleted.
According to local media coverage in the days after her death, family members regarded her being seen publicly with a man as dishonourable - even though they consented to the relationship.
Her injuries were explained as being self-inflicted. Her brother-in-law, Mohammed Safi, said she suffered from mental health problems and fell from a balcony at home - a claim prosecutors have since described as "invalid".
A smiling Israa posted pictures of her injuries online, apologising for having to postpone make-up appointments, adding: "My spine is broken and I have a surgery today. If the surgery goes well I will let you know and if not I will have to cancel everything."
Possessed by bad spirits'
Israa's body was buried, according to Islamic tradition, in the hours following her death.Her case may have ended there, had it not been for a Palestinian Facebook group called Do You Know Him? in which users "expose" men who mistreat women or cheat on their spouses.
The group posted a recording of what it alleged was Israa screaming while being beaten by her brothers, brother-in-law and father in hospital.
Prosecutors said last week the tape merged two clips recorded seven hours apart, while the hospital categorically denies she was beaten on its premises.
But the claims in the Facebook group began to spread, and concern about Israa's story snowballed.
The group also published WhatsApp conversations between Israa and her cousins in which she said she went out with a man who would soon be her fiancé, with the consent of her family.
Yes this case is from 2019 but people thought she died from illness until that expose. The doctors knew she was killed but they technically helped hide it. At least in America, suspected abuse or violence is meant to by reported. It’s called being a mandated reporter under the law.
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