Israel released on Sunday Palestinian lawmaker Khalida Jarrar after two years in prison for terror-related charges.
Jarrar, 58, was sentenced to two years in March 2021 for belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), of which she is a senior member and which Israel, the United States and the European Union consider a terrorist organization.
She had been detained since 2019 when she was arrested along with dozens of the organization's members following an attack that killed Israeli teenager Rina Schnerb and seriously wounded her father Rabbi Eitan Schnerb and brother Dvir Schnerb.
The family was struck by an explosive charge that detonated near them while on a hike on the West Bank. Israel blamed the attack on the PFLP.
Jarrar was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council, or parliament, as part of the PFLP.
On Sunday, the group congratulated Jarrar on her release, describing her as a "comrade in arms" known for her "patience and tenacity."
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Rina Schnerb, who was killed by an explosive in the West Bank in October 2019, and brother Dvir who was also gravely wounded in the attack
(Photo: Courtesy of the family)
After leaving jail, Jarrar visited the tomb of her daughter Suha who died in July, an AFP correspondent said.
At the time, the Israeli Prison Service refused to allow Jarrar to attend the funeral.
Jarrar has been arrested and jailed many times and often held without charge in what Israelis call administrative detention.
Israeli administrative detention orders allow suspects to be held without charge for renewable six-month periods.
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Arab Israeli legislator Ayman Odeh posing with Jarrar after her release from prison
(Photo: AP)
The procedure is intended to allow authorities to hold suspects while continuing to gather evidence, with the aim of preventing crimes in the meantime.
Palestinians have criticized the system, alongside pro-Palestinians groups and members of the international community, claiming Israel abuses it.