Mrs. Lutfieh Al-Howari -- a woman deportee from the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the Jordan -- accused Israel on Tuesday (11 February) of torturing Arab detainees. The charge was made at a news conference in Amman, Jordan, held at the headquarters of the Jerusalem Liberation Committee.

Mrs. Howari claimed that there were at least 350 Arab women in Israeli prisons being subjected to what she described as "brutal torture".

Mrs. Howari was deported by Israeli authorities over a week age. Her, husband, Mr. Ahmed Dakhil Al-Jama -- who also addressed the news conference -- was deported at the same time. Both had been prominent in publicising the cause of Palestine liberation along the West Bank.

During her stay in prison, Mrs. Howari alleged she had been subjected to many kinds of torture including electric shocks and beatings. She claimed she had been imprisoned six times since the Arab-Israeli war of 1967.