Palestinian Activist Passes Away from Injuries Days After Release from Israeli Prison

According to SAEDNEWS, Wafa Jarrar passed away on Monday from injuries sustained during her detention by Israeli forces on May 21. She had suffered severe injuries that resulted in above-knee amputations.

Reportedly, Israeli authorities released Jarrar shortly after the amputation to evade responsibility for her medical treatment. The Israeli army claimed that her injuries were due to a blast while she was confined in a military vehicle, where she was detained for four hours. However, despite this assertion, an administrative detention order against Jarrar was issued before she was released and handed over to the Palestinian Liaison Office in critical condition.

Last month, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor stated that the Israeli army bears full responsibility for Jarrar's life and safety. “This is a clear effort by Israel’s army to avoid taking responsibility for the serious injuries Jarrar sustained during her detention, which resulted in the amputation of her legs above the knees as well as damage to her spine and lungs, and to avoid its legal obligation to provide the necessary medical treatment,” the monitor asserted on July 1.

Wafa Jarrar, 49, was the wife of Hamas leader Abdul Jabbar Jarrar, who has been held in Israeli prisons since February 2022. Current reports indicate that over 8,000 Palestinians remain incarcerated in Israeli jails, with hundreds facing administrative detention. Human rights organizations have stated that Israel's practices violate numerous rights and freedoms outlined in the Fourth Geneva Convention. The process of administrative detention is particularly troubling, as it denies prisoners their right to due process, keeping them in limbo without trial or conviction while evidence is withheld.

Palestinian detainees have frequently resorted to open-ended hunger strikes to protest their conditions. Reports indicate that Israeli prison authorities maintain deplorable conditions, lacking hygiene and subjecting Palestinian inmates to systematic torture and harassment.

Since the outbreak of Israel’s conflict in Gaza last October, there has been a significant uptick in arrest campaigns in the West Bank and al-Quds. A recent report from the Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs, along with the Palestinian Prisoners Society and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, revealed that nearly 9,920 individuals have been arrested since October 7, including 345 women, 690 children, and 93 journalists. Furthermore, more than 7,500 administrative detention orders have been issued during this time, comprising both new orders and renewals.

The report also highlighted that these Israeli arrest campaigns were often marked by physical assaults, threats against detainees and their families, destruction of their homes, and seizure of their properties. There have been instances of field executions of detainees and their family members as well.

“Since October 7, at least 20 detainees were martyred in Israeli prisons, and their identities have been revealed,” the report noted. It further stated that many detainees from Gaza lost their lives in Israeli detention facilities, with Israeli authorities withholding their names and the causes of death.

Additionally, the bodies of 18 detainees who were martyred after October 7 remain withheld by the Israeli regime. This practice of seizing Palestinian bodies is often aimed at preventing funerals in Palestinian towns or as leverage in negotiations for the return of Israeli soldiers held by resistance groups.