Ref: 16/2015
Date: 02 April 2015
Time: 10:42 GMT
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns Israeli forces’ detention of Khalida Jarrar, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), and considers it a reprisal act and a form of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians which are prohibited according to article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 01:00 on Thursday, 02 April 2015, Israeli forces accompanied by intelligence officers and a female soldier raided a house belonging to MP Khalida Jarrar (52) in al-Bireh. They broke through the main door and thoroughly searched the house. They also seized two laptops and a cell phone belonging to Jarrar. According to her husband Mr. Ghassan Jarrar, Israeli forces searched the house for two hours and then arrested her.
It should be noted that Ms. Jarrar is a PLC member representing Abu Ali Mostafa Bloc and a member of the political office of the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Israeli forces raided her house previously on 20 August 2014 and handed her a military order transferring her to Jericho until 19 February 2015 on the pretext she “poses threat to the security of the region and she should be placed under private surveillance”. However, Jarrar refused to sign the order that was written in Hebrew, but the officer handed her a map showing her the limits within which she can move in Jericho. Following her transfer, Jarrar refused to comply with the order and held a sit-in in the PLC yard in Ramallah. Later on, Israeli forces reduced the tranfer period to one month, which already ended in mid-September.
PCHR condemned the transfer order at that time and considered it a clear violation of article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
PCHR strongly condemns the detention of Jarrar and:
