Israeli court jails Palestinian MP for 15 months: army

A military court in the West Bank on Sunday sentenced Palestinian lawmaker Khalida Jarrar to 15 months in jail for “inciting terrorism”, by calling for the abduction of IDF soldiers and violating an Israeli travel ban.

“Jarrar was sentenced to 15 months on the charges she was arrested for a few months ago, including incitement of terrorism”, an army spokesperson said on condition of anonymity.

The case has drawn global attention and criticism because of Jarrar’s status as a Palestinian parliament member and is controversial even within the military court system because of the classified evidence involved and an extended delay by the IDF in deciding when to arrest Jarrar. The charge of incitement rests upon the testimony of a Palestinian prisoner who say they heard Jarrar encourage the kidnapping of soldiers at a rally in 2012.

Touma-Suleiman said Jarrar’s actions were a justified defense of the rights of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, and that she planned to rally Israeli MKs and parliament members from other countries to petition Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan for her release.

Israel’s coalition of Arab parties, the Joint List, slammed Jarrar’s sentence and said the charges brought against her were politically motivated.

Jarrar is a senior member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a secular, left-leaning Palestinian faction that opposes peace with Israel. Jarrar was charged with security-related offenses.

Shortly afterward, an Israeli court slapped her with six months of “administrative detention”, by which detainees can be held indefinitely without trial or charge.

An Israeli air raid early Monday struck a Hamas training camp in the northern Gaza Strip in response to shots fired at Israeli patrol vehicles along the border, with no injuries reported, officials said.

In the June decision, Judge Col. Netanel Benishu of the appeals court, reversed a rare victory over the military prosecution for Jarrar, represented by defense lawyer Mahmoud Hassan, in the lower Judea Military Court on May 21 in which the court ordered Jarrar released over the prosecution’s objection.

Tensions are high after more than two months of near-daily Palestinian attacks that have killed 19 Israelis.

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