Israel Places Palestinian Leader Khaleda Jarrar Under Administrative Arrest

Palestinian activist Khaleda Jarrar. (Palestine News and Information Agency WAFA)
Palestinian activist Khaleda Jarrar. (Palestine News and Information Agency WAFA)
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Israel Places Palestinian Leader Khaleda Jarrar Under Administrative Arrest

Palestinian activist Khaleda Jarrar. (Palestine News and Information Agency WAFA)
Palestinian activist Khaleda Jarrar. (Palestine News and Information Agency WAFA)

Israel has transferred prominent Palestinian activist Khaleda Jarrar into administrative detention for six months, announced the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) on Thursday, bringing the total number of females under administrative detention to ten.

Jarrar, aged 60, was apprehended on December 26, with a history of multiple arrests preceding the recent detention, as stated by the PPS.

Utilizing an old British law, Israel has the authority to hold Palestinians in administrative detention for up to six months without trial. This term can be indefinitely renewed based on the alleged existence of a confidential file on the detainee.

"The Occupation released her in 2021. During her arrest, she lost her daughter and was deprived of bidding farewell to her. During her arrest in 2017, she lost her father," the statement read.

Israeli authorities refrained from providing comments on the transfer of multiple detainees, including Jarrar, into administrative detention.

The PPS drew attention to a concerning surge in the number of administrative detainees in Israeli prisons, reaching the highest count since the Intifada in 1987. The figure stood at 3,291 detainees at the end of December, surpassing both sentenced captives and those in pretrial detention.

In a separate statement, the PPS reported that Israeli occupation forces had detained at least 28 citizens in the West Bank on Wednesday and Thursday, including some individuals with prior captivity experience. This brings the total number of arrests since October 7 to 5,810.



Abbas Denounces Israeli Gaza Offensive at UN, Insists: 'We Will Not Leave'

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024.   REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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Abbas Denounces Israeli Gaza Offensive at UN, Insists: 'We Will Not Leave'

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024.   REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

The head of the Palestinian Authority denounced Israel and its offensive in the Gaza Strip in front of world leaders Thursday, appealing to other nations to stop what he called a “genocidal war” against a place and people he said had been totally destroyed.
Mahmoud Abbas used the rostrum of the UN General Assembly as he typically does — to criticize Israel. But this was the first time he did so since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel that triggered an Israeli military operation that has devastated the Gaza Strip.
Abbas strode to the podium to loud applause and a few unintelligible shouts. His first words were a sentence repeated three times: “We will not leave. We will not leave. We will not leave.”
He accused Israel of destroying Gaza and making it unlivable. And he said that his government should govern post-war Gaza as part of an independent Palestinian state, a vision that Israel’s hardline government rejects.
“Palestine is our homeland. It is the land of our fathers and our grandfathers. It will remain ours. And if anyone were to leave, it would be the occupying usurpers," The Associated Press quoted him as saying.
A nationwide series of campus protests against Israel's operations in Gaza swept the United States in the spring and largely originated at Columbia University, about 70 blocks north of the United Nations.
“The American people are marching in the streets in these demonstrations. We are appreciative of them," Abbas said.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 41,500 Palestinians and wounded more than 96,000 others, according to the latest figures released Thursday by the Health Ministry.

Abbas spent big chunks of his speech at the United Nations talking about the state of life in Gaza, and he painted a bleak picture.
"Entire family names have been written out of the civil record," he said. "Gaza is no longer fit for life. Most homes have been destroyed. The same applies for most buildings. ... Roads. Churches. Mosques. Water plants. Electric plants. Sanitation plants. Anyone who has gone to Gaza and known it before would not recognize it anymore.”
Among his demands, none of which are new: A full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip — not “buffer zones.” Allowing Gaza's displaced Palestinians — an estimated 90% of the population — to return to their homes. And a central role for Abbas' government in any future Gaza.
“Stop this crime. Stop it now. Stop killing children and women. Stop the genocide. Stop sending weapons to Israel. This madness cannot continue. The entire world is responsible for what is happening to our people in Gaza and the West Bank.”