A statement by the Handala Center revealed that Jarrar’s cell resembles a “grave” where she is forced to lie on the ground next to the door to acquire some oxygen.
The Handala Center for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners announced on Wednesday that Palestinian leader Khalida Jarrar has endured for the last 93 days a systematic campaign of abuse by the Israeli occupation authorities in the Ramla Prison.
The Handala Center said in a statement that the prominent Palestinian leader has been held in solitary confinement for the last 93 days and is being subjected to abuse putting her life at risk.
Khalida Jarrar, a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) who was lastly detained by the Israeli occupation on December 26 of last year, lives in an overcrowded and badly ventilated prison cell, deprived of basic needs such as water and light, the rights center said.
Handala Center for Captives and Ex-Captives:
⭕ For 93 days, Captive Khalida Jarrar, has been trapped in a suffocating, airless solitary cell. With no water or light, her cell has become a tomb where she can only lie next to the door, struggling for the faintest breath of air./ pic.twitter.com/onRVumTlJR
— Palestine Captives 𓂆 (@Palestinecapti1) November 13, 2024
The statement added that Jarrar’s cell resembles a “grave” where the Palestinian leader is forced to lie on the ground next to the door to acquire some oxygen through the cracks under the cell door, the Lebanese news network Al-Mayadeen reported.
It also emphasized that Jarrar’s systematic abuse is part of a wider campaign and is a stark example of “Israel’s slow death” policy, which Palestinian political prisoners face in the Israeli occupation prisons.
The Handala Center urged international organizations and human rights groups to urgently intervene to protect the life of Jarrar and all other Palestinian detainees who have been facing exacerbating conditions in Israeli prisons since the onset of their genocidal war on Gaza on October 7 of last year.
Furthermore, the rights group called on the international community to take immediate steps to stop Israel’s ongoing violations against Palestinian prisoners and to stage solidarity campaigns in support of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.
“Khalida tells her lawyer that in order to breathe, she has to lie down next to the door in order to get a little bit of air.”
Journalist Lama Ghosheh talks about the plight of Palestinian prisoner Khalida Jarrar.
Khalida Jarrar is a prominent Palestinian politician, feminist,… pic.twitter.com/iqtmfdcH7i
— Translating Palestine (@TranslatingPali) November 13, 2024
The Iconic Khalida
The Palestinian leader Khalida Jarrar has been arrested on multiple occasions by the Israeli occupation authorities.
The iconic figure was born in the city of Nablus, in the northern West Bank, on February 9, 1963. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master’s in Democracy and Human Rights from Birzeit University.
She served as a Director of Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Association from 1994 to 2006, when she was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) – the Palestinian Parliament. She now heads the PLC’s Prisoners Commission, in addition to her role on the Palestinian National Committee for follow-up with the International Criminal Court.
‘Hope out of Despair’: Who is Khalida Jarrar, Palestinian Leader Detained by Israel
Khalida Jarrar’s high profile as a Palestinian leader dedicated to exposing Israeli war crimes to international institutions has made her a target of frequent Israeli arrests and administrative detentions. She has been arrested several times, first in 1989, on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
In 2015, she was detained in a pre-dawn raid by Israeli occupation soldiers, who stormed her house in Ramallah. Initially, she was held in administrative detention without trial but, following an international outcry, Israeli authorities tried Khalida Jarrar in a military court, where 12 charges, based entirely on her political activities, were made against her. Some of the charges included giving speeches, holding vigils and expressing support for Palestinian detainees and their families. She spent 15 months in prison.
Khalida Jarrar was released in June 2016, only to be detained again in July 2017, when she was also held under administrative detention. The Israeli raid on her home was particularly violent, as soldiers destroyed the main door of her house and confiscated various equipment, including an iPad and her mobile phone.
Khalida Jarrar Visits Her Daughter’s Grave after Release from Israeli Prison (VIDEO)
She was interrogated at Ofer Prison before being transferred to HaSharon Prison, where many Palestinian female prisoners are held. She was released in February 2019, after spending nearly 20 months in prison.
Once more, Khalida Jarrar was arrested from her home in Ramallah on October 31, 2019. During her latest imprisonment, one of her two daughters, Suha, passed away at the age of 31. Despite an international campaign to allow Khalida to attend her daughter’s funeral on July 13, 2021, the Israeli government rejected all appeals.
However, a letter by Khalida was smuggled out of prison to serve as a farewell to Suha. In the letter, she wrote:
“Suha, my precious.
They have stripped me from bidding you a final goodbye kiss.
I bid you farewell with a flower.
Your absence is searingly painful, excruciatingly painful.
But I remain steadfast and strong,
Like the mountains of beloved Palestine.”
(PC, Agencies)
