In response to an international call to end Israeli violence on Palestinian women, a vigil will be held in front of the law courts in Valletta at 5.30 p.m. tomorrow.

The event will also serve to commemorate Jawaher Abu Rahma, 36, who died in a Ramallah hospital from cardiac arrest after inhaling tear gas on December 31, Maltese peace activist Bianca Zammit said.

Ms Rahma had taken part in a weekly demonstration in the West Bank village of Bil’in when Israeli soldiers blanketed the place with smoke to disperse the protest. Her brother, Bassam, was killed in April 2009 during a similar demonstration when Israeli soldiers aimed a tear gas canister directly at him, hitting him in the chest, according to Ms Zammit.

The EU, which for 20 years has been engaged in dialogue with Israel, Ms Zammit added, had strong political and economic ties with Israel which gave it leverage to promote a change of policy.

After 63 years of occupation, it was clear Israel would not budge from its objective of expropriating as much Palestinian land as possible while keeping Palestinians divided and controlled, Ms Zammit said.

She added that until the EU and Malta realised that dialogue with Israel failed its purpose, doing business with Israel meant financing the occupation and paying for weaponry that killed Palestinians like Ms Rahma.