Palestinian leader Khalida Jarrar expected to be released in Gaza ceasefire deal

Relatives of Palestinian prisoner Khalida Jarrar were preparing for her release on Saturday, as she was among the first group of exchanges agreed upon in the Gaza ceasefire deal. The Palestinian political leader, human rights and women’s rights advocate has been under administrative detention since December 2023. It has been reported that she has been held in solitary confinement in a 2-meter by 1.5-meter cell for the past six months.

As the agreed-upon release time neared, Palestinian and Israeli media reported that Jarrar would be among up to 1,900 Palestinian prisoners expected to be released on Sunday. Jarrar's sister, Salam Al-Ratrout, told Middle East Eye that the prospect of 61-year-old Jarrar's release gave her hope that Jarrar might at least leave solitary confinement, ending the harshest part of her imprisonment.

However, Al-Ratrout stated that her family felt “intense sadness and diminished joy” over the many tragedies Jarrar had suffered during her multiple detentions over the past three decades. Jarrar’s father, daughter, and nephew all died while she was imprisoned, and Israeli authorities prevented her from attending any of their funerals.

Al-Ratrout also indicated that Jarrar suffers from multiple medical conditions that require immediate treatment, as the Israeli Prison Authority had stopped providing medical care to prisoners following the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023. “Our tragedies are many, and there is no joy that can make us happy. But we are strong, and the Israeli occupation cannot break us,” Al-Ratrout told Middle East Eye. “Our joy is incomplete until all prisoners are released.”

Jarrar, from Nablus, began her activism as a teenager. She reportedly volunteered in a group that cleaned local neighborhoods and public schools, against the wishes of many in her family who felt this work was more suitable for boys. Jarrar later became one of the most prominent leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Palestinian nationalist and Marxist-Leninist faction that is designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

In 2006, she was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), the legislative body of the Palestinian Authority (PA), and was appointed to head the Prisoners’ Committee. She is credited with playing a leading role in consolidating Palestine’s accession to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2015. In addition to advocating for Palestinian prisoners, Jarrar has been deeply involved in human rights work for many years. She was first arrested in 1989 when she participated in an International Women’s Day demonstration, reportedly trying to prevent the arrest of one of her sisters.

She has been arrested multiple times over the past three decades, often under administrative detention – a policy that allows Israeli authorities to detain individuals without charge or trial. In 2015, she was arrested for allegedly belonging to a banned organization and was released in June 2016 after 15 months in detention. Following her release, Jarrar told activist and law professor Noura Erakat about how she and other prisoners established a school for young female prisoners to help them continue their lives after their release. Jarrar taught English.

Jarrar told Erakat: “We need patience, not to lose hope, and not to lose our way. There will be an accumulation of efforts, which will lead to change. We need to be hopeful, and we will be victorious.” In the summer of 2017, Jarrar was arrested again and released in September 2021, before being arrested again in December 2023 from her home in Ramallah. She was placed under administrative detention, which has been repeatedly extended. In August, she was transferred to solitary confinement “as a form of punishment,” according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club.

Al-Ratrout stated that this imprisonment has been the most difficult for Jarrar, as Israeli authorities have prevented her from receiving any visitors. Despite this, she is confident that her sister will continue her fight. “Khalida is strong and determined, and nothing can shake her,” Al-Ratrout told Middle East Eye. “Even after losing her daughter, she still returned to the struggle, defending the Palestinian cause.”