Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territory: Arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment and abusive administrative detention of WHRD Tahreer Jaber

The Observatory has been informed of the arbitrary arrest and abusive administrative detention by Israeli authorities of Tahreer Jaber. Ms Jaber is a Palestinian human rights defender and feminist activist, member of the General Union of Palestinian Women.

At 4 a.m. on September 17, 2024, Israeli occupation army officers presented themselves to Tahreer Jaber’s house in Betunia, Ramallah, and checked both her and her husband's identity documents before a female soldier took Ms Jaber in a room to carry out a search on her, without being provided with any reason or presented with any warrant. Once the search was completed, the occupation officers tied Ms Jaber’s hands behind her back with plastic cuffs and blindfolded her. She was then loaded into a jeep, which drove for a long distance, before being transferred to another vehicle in which there were already some young male detainees.

The detainees were all moved to a camp, which Ms Jaber estimated to be Beit El Settlement Compound, located just outside the city limits of Ramallah, and put in a room with six other detainees. An Israeli occupation soldier placed some black adhesive tape over Ms Jaber’s blindfold, extending it to her mouth, and making it very difficult for her to breathe. The detainees stayed there for two hours. The soldiers would enter and bang on the walls, while Ms Jaber was sitting on the ground. Later that same day, Ms Jaber was seen by a doctor for a general examination, and later transferred to Ofer prison.

At the Ofer prison, the detainees were deprived of water and only allowed to use the bathroom after repeatedly requesting it. Ms Jaber underwent a 15-minute interrogation, and all the other detainees were also questioned. After the interrogations, they were all transferred to Hasharon prison. They were dragged down the stairs towards the vehicle, with a black bag covering Ms Jaber’s face.

Upon arriving at Hasharon prison, the detainees were dragged to the yard and made to sit on the ground. Ms Jaber felt unwell because of the lack of air due to the bag covering her face. Notwithstanding that, she underwent a new search by hand and with a metal detector. All the detainees remained in a dirty waiting room for about ten hours, unable to eat because of the filth in the room.

On September 18, 2024, all the detainees were transferred to Damon prison, where they were subjected to a strip search upon arrival. The jailer who handled Ms Jaber behaved aggressively and did not accommodate Ms Jaber’s request to address her in English instead of Hebrew. Ms Jaber was taken for a medical examination, followed by an intelligence interrogation session, and then transferred to the prison section.

On September 29, 2024, Ms Jaber was sentenced by judge Shum’oon Ashual to administrative detention from September 24, 2024, until January 16, 2025. The official reason given for this conviction, as in all cases of administrative detention, is that Ms Jaber poses a “threat to the security of the nation of Israel”.

The detention conditions at Damon prison are deleterious, with prisoners being allowed only 15 minutes per day in the yard to use the bathroom, and anyone who is late is being punished. In those 15 minutes, 25 prisoners have to shower using only six bathrooms.

On September 25, 2024, the prison guards entered the prison section in which Ms Jaber is arbitrarily detained and confiscated everything they could find, including essential items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo and laundry soap. Prison authorities also confiscated blankets, books, food containers, hijab clothing, prayer garments, and jilbabs. The prisoners were left with only the clothes they were wearing. The toothbrushes were eventually returned, while other essentials, such as sanitary pads, are still being rationed.

Since September 25, 2024, the amount of food and beverages provided to prisoners has decreased significantly. From two cups of tea per day, prisoners are now only receiving half a cup.

At 5 a.m. on October 7, 2024, Ms Jaber and all other detainees woke up to the sound of dogs running and barking, while the guards were shouting loudly. They entered the rooms spraying gas in the air, conducted strip searches, restrained the prisoners with their hands behind their backs, blindfolded them, and took them out to the yard. There, prisoners were subjected to insults in both Arabic and Hebrew. They were made to kneel on the ground while the Israeli national anthem was played, accompanied by filming, shouting and cursing. Afterwards, they were returned to their rooms, not allowed outside for yard time and were given only a small amount of food for the day.

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation authorities and the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) have suspended family visits to detainees and imposed severe restrictions on lawyers’ access to their clients. As a result, detainees have been deprived of the regular visits to which they are entitled. The IPS has repeatedly cited "emergency situations" to justify these restrictions. Ms Jaber was unable to meet with her lawyer during the first 21 days of her detention.

During the first 21 days of her detention and until October 9, 2024, when her lawyer was able to visit her, Ms Jaber has been allowed yard time for only five days, totalling just one hour. She has spent the rest of the time in jail.

The Observatory strongly condemns the arbitrary arrest, detention, sentencing and ill-treatment of Tahreer Jaber, which appear to constitute retaliation for her legitimate human rights activities. The Observatory urges the Israeli occupation authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Ms Jaber and to put an end to any acts of harassment, including at the judicial level, against her, as well as against all human rights defenders in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The Observatory calls on the Israeli occupation authorities to carry out an immediate investigation into the above-mentioned alleged acts of ill-treatment against Tahreer Jaber, and to bring the perpetrators to justice in accordance with international human rights standards.