Israel has denied a request to release Palestinian parliamentarian Khalida Jarrar following the sudden death of her daughter. Israel reportedly is not even allowing Jarrar a phone call with her family.
BY YUMNA PATEL
(FILE) A PHOTO TAKEN ON FEBRUARY 28, 2019. POPULAR FRONT FOR THE LIBERATION OF PALESTINE (PFLP) MEMBER KHALIDA JARRAR WITH HER DAUGHTER SUHA (RIGHT) AND HUSBAND GHASSAN (LEFT) FOLLOWING HER RELEASE FROM AN ISRAELI JAIL, IN THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK CITY OF RAMALLAH. NOW, ISRAELI AUTHORITIES REFUSE JARRAR’S REQUEST TO BE RELEASED FROM JAIL TO PARTICIPATE IN SUHA’S FUNERAL, WHO DIED YESTERDAY OF A SUDDEN HEART ATTACK. (PHOTO: AHMAD AROURI/APA IMAGES)
Palestinians are demanding the release of Palestinian parliamentarian and leader Khalida Jarrar from Israeli prison following the sudden death of her daughter and human rights advocate, Suha Jarrar.
Suha Ghassan Jarrar, 30, was found dead in her apartment in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah late Sunday evening, according to local media. She reportedly died of natural causes.
Her mother, Khalida Jarrar, is a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and leader in the secular Marxist-Lenninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) party.
Khalida is currently a political prisoner in Israel, serving a two year sentence for the “the offense of holding office in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.”
Upon hearing the news from her lawyers while in prison, Khalida reportedly said: “The news is very painful. It hurts because I miss Suha, my sweetheart. Say hello to everyone and let them take care of each other. Let them know I am strong.
لينة@LinahAlsaafin·Jul 11, 2021Replying to @LinahAlsaafinAccording to initial reports, Jarrar family said Suha died from a heart attackلينة@LinahAlsaafinLawyers have told Khalida Jarrar the news this morning. Her response: “The news is very painful. It hurts because I miss Suha, my sweetheart. Say hello to everyone and let them take care of each other. Let them know I am strong.”11:16 AM · Jul 12, 2021
Suha, a legal researcher and advocacy officer worked with Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and specialized in gender issues, the environment and climate change. She is the youngest of Khalida and Ghassan Jarrar’s two daughters.
In an obituary published on Monday, Al-Haq described Suha as “a fierce advocate for the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, freedom, and dignity.”
“Suha will remain a legacy and a role model in her strength, patience, giving, and defiance to the oppression faced by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails,” the obituary read.
Al-Haq, along with other rights groups like Addameer and the Palestinian Legislative Council’s (PLC) prisoners’ committee said in statements on Monday that they were working to ensure the unconditional release of Khalida so that she could attend the funeral of her daughter, set to be held on Tuesday July 13th.
In a statement on Monday, Al-Haq said that the group had sent “dozens of letters” to Third States and to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), calling for “the urgent, immediate and unconditional release” of Khalida so that she could attend Suha’s funeral and “mourn in human dignity.”
A large group of Palestinian demonstrators gathered on Monday afternoon outside the Ofer military prison in Ramallah and staged a protest, demanding that Khalida be released. Israeli forces reportedly threatened protesters with force before firing tear gas at the crowds.
مريم البرغوثي@MariamBarghoutiIsraeli commander just threatened Palestinians to use excessive force and that protestors will be made to “regret” being in Ofer. This is #Israel. Using its impunity to kill us, meanwhile we want to be free and safe. We are demanding a mother her right to bury her daughter.
Activists also circulated a petition online calling for Khalida’s release, saying Palestinian activists have also circulated an online petition calling for her release, “so that she can bury and mourn her daughter and exercise her most fundamental human rights.”
On Monday evening Haaretz reporter Jack Khoury tweeted that the commissioner of the Israel Prison Service (IPS) had decided not to release Khalida, and not to allow her to attend Suha’s funeral.
Dr. Yara Hawari د. يارا هواري@yarahawariThe Israeli regime has just refused to allow political prisoner Khalida Jarrar to bury her daughter, Suha, and mourn with her family. This regime is evil beyond words. #freekhalidajarrar6:12 PM · Jul 12, 2021
On Monday evening Al-Haq reported that Israeli authorities had denied Khalida from calling her husband Ghassan and eldest daughter Yafa.
Khalida is set to be released from prison in September. She was arrested back in October 2019, just nine months after she was released from another prison sentence.
Since 2014 Khalida has spent much of her time in and out of prison, including under administrative detention orders, during which she was held without charge or trial.
She is one of 12 Palestinian parliamentarians currently imprisoned by Israel, and is among 5,300 Palestinian prisoners currently in Israeli jails.
