Israel to release Palestinian MP after 14 months in prison
Israel is set to release a prominent Palestinian lawmaker who has been in prison since April 2015, Palestinian and Israeli sources said on Thursday.
Khalida Jarrar will be set free at the Jubara checkpoint near the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem on Friday morning, the Israel Prison Service and Palestinian Prisoners Club told AFP.
Jarrar, a senior member of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and a well-known political figure, had been sentenced by Israel to 15 months prison for encouraging attacks against Israel and violating a travel ban.
Read Middle East Eye's Q&A with Khalida Jarrar before her arrest in 2015
The prison service spokesman said she was being released a month early as part of an "administrative release," which can take place when prisons are filled beyond capacity.
Israel considers the PFLP a terrorist organisation and at the time of her arrest the Israeli army said Jarrar posed "substantial security risks".
Jarrar is a member of the Palestinian parliament which has not met since 2007 after elections a year earlier were won by Hamas.
After Jarrar's release, six Palestinian lawmakers will remain imprisoned by Israel, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
