PA Demands Int’l Probe into Death of Oldest Female Detainee

Detainee Saadia Farajallah. WAFA
Detainee Saadia Farajallah. WAFA
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PA Demands Int’l Probe into Death of Oldest Female Detainee

Detainee Saadia Farajallah. WAFA
Detainee Saadia Farajallah. WAFA

The Palestinian Authority has demanded an international investigation into the death of detainee Saadia Farajallah, 68, in an Israeli prison.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh held Israeli authorities fully responsible for the death of Farajallah.

Shtayyeh called on international human rights organizations to launch an investigation into the circumstances of her death and to put pressure on Israel to release all female and male prisoners, especially the sick and minors.

Also, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates called on international organizations, such as the Red Cross, to shoulder their responsibilities toward the Palestinian captives in Israel, particularly the medical negligence in the prisons.

Farajallah was detained by Israeli forces near a military checkpoint in Hebron on December 18, 2021, the Palestinian Prisoners Club reported. It further accused Damon prison authorities of medical neglect.

The death of Farajallah, who was the oldest Palestinian female detainee, brings the total of Palestinians who have died in Israeli prisons since 1967 to 230.

Her family revealed that the Israel Prison Service put Farajallah in challenging conditions at the solitary confinement since her arrest eight months ago.

Farajallah attended a court hearing in a wheelchair on June 28, when the prosecution sought a five-year prison sentence and 15,000 shekel ($4,200) fine, the Prisoners Club said. However, the sentence was not issued.

The Israel Prison Service said “the woman who is chronically ill, was regularly treated by IPS medical personnel. She was released from the hospital this week and returned to prison.”

“On Saturday morning, she needed medical attention in the ward. A medic who examined her called an intensive care unit. The medical staff performed resuscitation efforts on her, but her death was determined on the spot,” the IPS reported.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem stated that this crime affirms the racist attitude of the occupation towards the inmates, especially the sick.



Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
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Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.

Heavy Israeli airstrikes killed 12 people, including five Hezbollah fighters, in eastern Lebanon on Tuesday, a security source in Lebanon said, in what Israel said was a warning to the Iran-backed group against trying to re-establish itself.

The Israeli military said the airstrikes targeted training camps used by elite Hezbollah fighters and warehouses it used to store weapons in the Bekaa Valley region of eastern Lebanon.

The airstrikes were the deadliest on the area since a US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel last November. Bachir Khodr, governor of the Bekaa region, said seven of the dead were Syrian nationals.

Israel dealt Hezbollah heavy blows in last year's conflict, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah along with other commanders and destroying much of its arsenal.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday's strikes sent a "clear message" to Hezbollah, accusing it of planning to rebuild the capability to raid Israel through the elite Radwan force, Reuters reported.

Israel "will respond with maximum force to any attempt at rebuilding", he said. He added that strikes were also a message to the Lebanese government, saying it was responsible for upholding the ceasefire agreement.

There was no immediate public response from Hezbollah or from the Lebanese government to the latest Israeli strikes.

The United States has submitted a proposal to the Lebanese government aimed at securing Hezbollah's disarmament within four months in exchange for Israel halting airstrikes and withdrawing troops from positions they still hold in south Lebanon.

Under the terms of the ceasefire brokered by the US and France, Lebanon's armed forces were to confiscate "all unauthorized arms", beginning in the area south of the Litani River - the zone closest to Israel.