MOSCOW (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova — A Palestinian lawmaker arrested by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) last week became the 16th legislator to be held in Israeli prisons, the Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Fayed Mustafa told Sputnik on Thursday.
"Khalida Jarrar, who is a very active woman, a senior leader of the left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine [PFLP] and a member of our Parliament, was arrested in her house at night without any reason."
After her arrest, Jarrar was placed under administrative detention for six months, the maximum term that a person can be held in custody without formal charges, according to Israeli law.
The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) sees a connection between Jarrar's arrest and her position as a member of the team that oversaw the Palestinian Authority becoming a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) this year.
The Palestinian Authority submitted a formal membership request on January 1 and officially became an ICC member on April 1. Its leader, Mahmoud Abbas, had announced plans to investigate alleged war crimes committed by Israel during the 50-day war in Gaza last summer and seek the end of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
According to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, as of November 2014, Israel had over 5,500 Palestinians in detention, 150 of whom were minors. The Haaretz reports that a further 450 or more Palestinians are being held under administrative detention without due process.
