Israeli police conditions emptying home of female prisoner of journalists before her release

By Said Amouri

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli police ordered the evacuation of journalists from a Palestinian female prisoner's home at midnight Saturday in occupied East Jerusalem as a condition for her release, according to to Jerusalem-based Wadi Hilweh Information Center.

Israeli forces raided the home of Israa Jaabis and conditioned the departure of all journalists before her release, it said.

Jaabis spent seven years in an Israeli jail on an 11-year sentence.

On Oct. 11, 2015, Jaabis, 31, was en route to her home in Jerusalem when a gas cylinder in her car exploded, and the car caught fire. She suffered third-degree burns which charred 60% of her body, including her face and hands.

Israeli authorities accused Jaabis of wanting to carry out a "terror" attack, a charge she denies.

Jaabis is on the list of 39 Palestinian women and children to be released from Israeli jails as part of a second batch of a prisoner swap deal with Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

Israel and Hamas swapped 24 Israelis and foreigners for 39 Palestinians from Israeli jails on Friday, the first day of the four-day humanitarian pause. The second batch of prisoners is almost complete after the release of 17 Israelis and foreigners earlier Saturday.

Under the agreement, the hostages and prisoners will be released in batches during the course of four days.

Israel launched a massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.
It has since killed at least 14,854 Palestinians, including 6,150 children and over 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the enclave.

The official Israeli death toll stands at 1,200.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar