Socialist Palestinian Khalida Jarrar Released

Palestinian leader Khalida Jarrar has been released after spending 14 months imprisoned under Israel's apartheid regime. Her detention, marked by the use of administrative orders—a practice allowing imprisonment without formal charges or trial—highlighted the ongoing systemic oppression faced by Palestinian activists and leaders.

Jarrar, a prominent figure in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), has been targeted multiple times for her unwavering commitment to the Palestinian cause. A respected academic, parliamentarian, and human rights advocate, she has dedicated her life to resisting occupation and supporting political prisoners. Her work at Addameer, a Palestinian NGO defending prisoners’ rights, and her leadership in the PFLP have made her a symbol of resilience in the struggle against Israeli apartheid policies.

After delays by Zionism, the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and the Palestinian resistance came into effect. As part of the first phase, the initial chapter unfolded on Sunday, the 19th, with the release of 90 Palestinian prisoners, mostly women and minors. On the other side, three Israeli women were freed, whose profiles and stories dominated the media aligned with Zionism and imperialism. 

Jarrar, who is about to turn 62, is a leader of the PFLP and was elected to the Palestinian parliament in January 2006, alongside two other representatives of this Marxist organization that is part of the Palestinian resistance. She is an academic researcher at the Muwatin Institute at Birzeit University and worked from 1993 to 2005 as the director of Addameer, a human rights NGO advocating for Palestinian prisoners based in Ramallah. She often recounts her first arrest in 1989 during a March 8 demonstration for women workers' rights and against the Israeli occupation.

She was detained starting December 26, 2023. The last 36 weeks were spent in solitary confinement under torture. In August 2024, Samidoun (a solidarity organization for Palestinian prisoners) shared her testimony: 

"I die every day. The cell is like a small airtight box. There is only one toilet in the cell with a small window above it, which was sealed just a day after my transfer. I was given no space to breathe, and even the so-called 'ashnav' (peephole) in the cell door was sealed. There is only a small opening where I sit most of the time to breathe. I suffocate in my cell, waiting for the hours to pass, hoping to find a few particles of oxygen to breathe and stay alive."

Khalida Jarrar had already endured three previous periods of detention, in 2015, 2017, and 2019, each lasting between 14 and 24 months. The Israeli apartheid regime in the West Bank repeatedly resorted to administrative detentions against her and numerous Palestinian activists and political organizers. They never managed to break her, even during these periods of imprisonment. She dedicated herself to teaching English and politically organizing the female prisoners she shared spaces with. Zionist cruelty prevented her from attending the funeral of one of her daughters, Suha, in July 2021. It was not until September that she was allowed to visit her grave.