BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Dozens of Palestinian women have staged a memorial for a mother of three whose estranged husband is accused of slashing her throat in a busy West Bank market after she sought a divorce.
The killing of 27-year-old Nancy Zaboun has reverberated across Palestinian society because of its brutal nature. Activists are calling on police and courts to do more to protect women against abusive husbands.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has promised to end a long-standing practice of treating killings within a family with leniency. However, violence against women continues to be tolerated in Palestinian society, and activists say abusive husbands are rarely punished.
On Wednesday, women gathered on the spot in downtown Bethlehem where Zaboun was killed two days earlier. The governor of Bethlehem says Zaboun's husband is in custody.
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