Mrs. Kahalida Jarrar, a member of the Palestinian Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) has been arrested again by the Israeli forces on Thursday 31st October 2019 from her house in the illegally occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. Her daughter Yafa Jarrar wrote on Twitter:
“My mom Khalida Jarrar was arrested from our house in Ramallah moments ago. Israeli forces raided our home with over 70 soldiers and around 12 military vehicles. Mom and sister were asleep when they approached”.
Mrs Khalida Jarrar is 56 years old and is an active member of the left-wing movement Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). She was also arrested in 2015 and in 2017. The PFLP is a left-wing group which was founded in 1967 by George Habash. The PFLP is considered as a dangerous terrorist group by Israel.
That great lady was released last February after having spent nearly 20 months in Israeli prison. Under what charges? None! Mrs Khalida Jarrar was imprisoned under the sweeping fascist Israeli regulation known as ‘administrative detention’. What is ‘administrative detention’? B’Tselem (see Sunday Times of 26th October 2019) has defined ‘administrative detention’ as incarceration without trial or charge, alleging that a person plans to commit a future offence. It has no time limit, and the evidence on which it is based is not disclosed. Israel employs this measure extensively and routinely, and has used it to hold thousands of Palestinians for lengthy periods of time. While detention orders are formally reviewed, this is simply a semblance of judicial oversight, as detainees cannot reasonably mount a defence against undisclosed allegations. Nevertheless, courts uphold the vast majority of orders.
B’Tselem further adds (see btselem.org on administrative detention) that the detainees are helpless – facing unknown allegations with no way to disprove them, not knowing when they will be released, and without being charged, tried or convicted…
There are presently seven Palestinian prisoners within Israeli prisons. But there are thousands of Palestinian political prisoners who were held in Israeli prisons and detention centres (known by the Western media as detention facilities) outside the OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY, in contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Israel does not care!
According to SAMIDOUN, which is a Palestinian prisoner network, Mrs. Khalida Jarrar is a long-time advocate of Palestinian prisoners and when she is in prison, she is known to have systematically helped the Palestinian women prisoners to study. She has organised numerous classes on Human Rights and has dismantled the myth that Israel is a democratic state.
Jarrar (sorry for not using lady or madam when referring to her) has always said, “WE WIL DIE BUT WE WILL NOT BOW.”
In the past, Jarrar was prosecuted by an Israeli military court on 12 charges, which are related to her political work. And despite an international uproar, Jarrar was found guilty and sentenced to 15 months in Israeli prison, five years of probation and a fine of 2,600 dollars. Jarrar said at that time (and was proved to be right):
“I feel I was arrested because the Israelis wanted to send a message, maybe for other women, maybe for other lawmakers, to keep us silent”.
Jarrar studied Business Administration at the Birzeit University. Jarrar was very active during her university time. She was never scared then as she is not scared now, despite being a mother.
Jarrar was arrested for the first time on 8th march 1989 during an International Women’s Day protest, while she was protesting at the time she was studying Human Rights at Birzeit University.
Jarrar fights for:
- Gender equality;
- Prisoners’ rights;
- Return to the democratic process within the Palestinian authority;
- The prosecution of Israel before the INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT.
Jarrar is an inspiration not only to Palestinian women but to men and women around the world. We must not waste our time. We must petition all the world lenders to force Israel to free Jarrar. Yes! Israel will not listen but out petitions, coming from an island, will at least shame the fascists in Israel…
RAMA VALAYDEN
