PROFILE – Leftist rights defender Khalida Jarrar wins freedom from Israeli detention under Gaza deal

PROFILE – Leftist rights defender Khalida Jarrar wins freedom from Israeli detention under Gaza deal

Khalida Jarrar was among 90 Palestinians freed under Gaza ceasefire deal with Israel

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) – Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners under a ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement that suspended Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Leading among the freed prisoners is leftist Palestinian politician and human rights advocate Khalida Jarrar.

Born on Feb. 9, 1963 in the West Bank city of Nablus, Jarrar is a leading member in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

A mother of two, she has a master degree in political science from Birzeit University, north of Ramallah in the West Bank.

She was the director of Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Association from 1994 to 2006.

Jarrar was elected a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council during the last parliamentary elections held in 2006. During her tenure, she served as the head of the assembly’s Prisoners Commission.

Jarrar was also appointed to the Palestinian National Committee for the follow-up of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Jarrar and her husband, Ghassan Jarrar, have spent long years in Israeli prisons under Tel Aviv’s notorious policy of administrative detention.


- Rights advocate

According to local sources, Jarrar has been active in support of Palestinian rights against the decades-long Israeli occupation since the late 1980s.

Jarrar was arrested by the Israeli army several times on accusations of affiliation to an “outlawed” party and for her role in activities supporting Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.

On June 3, 2016, she was released from Israeli jail after serving 15 months in detention.

However, she was rearrested again in the summer of 2017 and was released on Feb. 2019.

In the same year, the leftist politician was arrested in October, and after spending two years behind bars, she was freed in September 2021.

The repeated arrests and restrictions by Israel, however, did not change Jarrar’s position on defending rights of Palestinian prisoners.

Jarrar was again detained on Dec. 26, 2023 after the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip and languished in Israeli prisons until she was freed on Jan. 19.

She was also banned from travel several times by the Israeli authorities due to her support for Palestinian rights.


- Long struggle

During the ceasefire negotiations, Palestinian resistance group Hamas insisted on Jarrar’s release in any swap agreement due to the leftist leader’s years-long struggle against the Israeli occupation.

While in custody, Israeli prison authorities placed Jarrar in solitary confinement as a punitive measure against the leftist Palestinian politician.

According to prisoners’ affairs groups, Jarrar was repeatedly mistreated by prison guards, jeopardizing her well-being.

Estimates put the number of Palestinian detainees at Israeli prisons at over 11,000.

Hamas released three Israeli captives under the ceasefire deal, which took effect on Sunday.

The 3-phase deal includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

Nearly 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 110,700 others injured in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli war has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.

In November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

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