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Israel denies early release of activist and representative Khalida Jarrar after death of daughter
- Zach
- Nov 3, 2022
- 2 min read
The political activist’s daughter died suddenly of a heart attack in Ramallah, Palestine, but her mother will likely be barred from attending the funeral while serving time in an Israeli prison.
By Jake Austin, 13 July 2021
Nonprofits and demonstrations in Palestine have demanded that Khalida Jarrar, the jailed activist, be released in order to attend the funeral of her daughter. 58-year-old Jarrar was jailed in October 2019, but was only charged in March 2021 by an Israeli military court for “inciting violence and belonging to a banned organization”. It seems unlikely that the tragic events will allow an early or temporary release before her sentence runs out in September of this year.
Suha Jarrar was 31 years old and was found dead in her apartment in Ramallah. Following in her mother’s footsteps, she worked for Al-Haq, a Palestinian non-profit, as a legal researcher and advocacy officer. The cause of death was determined to be cardiac arrest.
Al-Haq has claimed it reached out to the United Nations to appeal for a temporary release so that Jarrar could attend the funeral, a call echoed by a peaceful demonstration outside Ofer Prison where she is being held.
The incident shines a light upon the workings of the Israeli military courts and the long delays between arrests and application of charges. The military’s ability to label Palestinian groups as terrorist or terrorist-affiliated and then detain those associated with the organizations is not checked by any higher civilian authority, and is therefore rife with abuse. Human rights groups have long decried the violations of international law in these punishments, but Israel is signed onto very few international human rights agreements.
In the meantime, incidents like this risk further radicalization of Palestinians, funneling recruitment efforts by groups such as Hamas. There are many like Jarrar in Israeli prisons, and cruel treatment in extenuating circumstances like this paint a larger picture of the inflexibility of the system when dealing with Palestinians.
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