Palestinian Prisoners' Society – 24/12/2024
The Palestinian Prisoners' Society stated that the third extension of administrative detention against detainee, human rights advocate, and former legislative council member Khalida Jarrar (61 years old), along with the continuation of her isolation for 134 consecutive days, constitutes a direct threat to her life and is a multifaceted crime. This begins with the systematic crime of administrative detention, which has targeted her repeatedly over past years, alongside her ongoing isolation under harsh conditions in Neve Tirza isolation prison—one of the worst Israeli prisons.
The Society added that Jarrar was administratively detained a year ago, and on 12/8/2024, she was placed in isolation as part of a systematic targeting operation. She lives under dire and harsh conditions designed to strip her of her humanity and undermine her societal and human rights role. This is emblematic of the long-standing Israeli occupation's policy of administrative detention, which has transformed over time, with administrative detainees now constituting at least 33% of the total prisoner population—a historic high based on available documentation.
During the past months, human rights organizations conducted multiple visits to Jarrar in her isolation cell at Neve Tirza. She is held in a cramped cell lacking the basic necessities of human life. In a message she sent at the beginning of her isolation, Jarrar described her cell as “a small, closed box where no air enters. The cell has only a toilet with a small window above it, which was sealed off a day after my transfer. They left me no means of breathing, even sealing the so-called ‘vents’ on the cell door. There is only a small opening where I sit most of the time to breathe. I am suffocating in my cell, counting the hours, hoping to find some oxygen to stay alive.”
It is worth noting that Israeli forces rearrested Jarrar on 26/12/2023 from her home in Ramallah and placed her under administrative detention. She was issued two administrative detention orders and was initially held in Damon Prison alongside other female detainees before being transferred to isolation. Since her arrest, she has endured harsh detention conditions and systematic abuse, including solitary confinement, which—along with collective isolation policies imposed on detainees since the onset of what has been termed the “war of annihilation”—represents one of the most dangerous tactics employed by the Israeli prison system over decades.
Jarrar, a former prisoner who has spent approximately five years in detention, is a prominent human rights and feminist activist and a former member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Throughout her repeated detentions, she has faced retaliatory measures, the most painful being her deprivation of the chance to bid farewell to her daughter, who passed away during her previous detention. She is one of 89 female prisoners held in Israeli prisons, most of whom are in Damon Prison, including 23 administrative detainees, among them mothers, sisters of martyrs, former detainees, students, journalists, activists, and lawyers.
Since the onset of the so-called “war of annihilation,” Israeli forces have escalated arrests of women, with around 445 cases reported. This number does not include women detained from Gaza, estimated to be in the dozens.
The Palestinian Prisoners' Society reiterated its call to the international human rights system to reclaim its essential role in confronting the ongoing war of annihilation and to end its persistent impotence in the face of the occupation's brutality and horrific crimes. The Society emphasized the need to go beyond mere documentation and declarations, particularly regarding the crimes endured by detainees in Israeli prisons and camps, which represent one facet of the broader war of annihilation. While some decisions by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court offer a glimmer of hope for addressing this paralysis, they remain insufficient without decisive action.