IDF charges Palestinian lawmaker with security offenses - Diplomacy and Defense - Israel News | Haaretz
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IDF charges Palestinian lawmaker with security offenses
Khalida Jarrar indicted in Israeli military tribunal on charges of belonging to PFLP, inciting others to abduct Israeli soldiers.
By Jack Khoury
The military prosecution on Wednesday charged Palestinian lawmaker Khalida Jarrar with 12 security offenses. Earlier this month the army ordered Jarrar imprisoned without trial for six months, citing “dangerousness.”
The indictment charges Jarrar with membership in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, serving an administrative role in the organization, conducting public works for the PFLP and inciting others to abduct Israeli soldiers.
“We were surprised by the prosecution, which explicitly said last week there were no grounds to detain her until the end of proceedings,” said Jarrar’s lawyer, Sahar Francis. “The indictment strengthens our argument that the imprisonment is vindictive.”
Jarrar is a member of the Palestinian committee monitoring the International Criminal Court procedures. She was arrested just after the Palestinian Authority joined the ICC.
The military prosecution asked to keep Jarrar in prison until the end of proceedings, even though the prosecution had previously told the military tribunal that it had no evidence to justify keeping her in custody until then.
Jarrar was arrested April 1 at her home in the town of El Bireh, near Ramallah. The IDF said she had breached travel restrictions imposed in August, which banned her from leaving the Jericho area. No other security offenses were mentioned.
Jarrar’s arrest prompted sharp protests from the Palestinian Authority and international human rights groups, which demanded her release