Palestinian MP released after 20 months in Israeli jail

RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli authorities Thursday morning released Palestinian lawmaker Khaleda Jarrar after holding her for 20 months in “administrative detention”.

Under Israel’s policy of administrative detention, prisoners can be held indefinitely without trial or charge.

A leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLF), Jarrar told reporters upon her release: “Palestinian women languishing in Israeli jails continue to face difficult conditions due to the arbitrary practices of the [Israeli] occupation.”

“All the Palestinian factions must work together to secure their release as soon as possible,” she added.

Israel, Jarrar went on to assert, “seeks to break the will of Palestinians in its prisons -- but consistently fails”.

On July 2, 2017, the Israeli army arrested Jarrar after raiding her home in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

In 2006, Jarrar, running for the PFLP, won a seat at the Palestinian Legislative Council in Palestine’s last legislative election.

Writing by Ali H. M.Abo Rezeg