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A permanent protest tent in solidarity with Khalida Jarrar has been set up in Ramallah outside the headquarters of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and it is open to the public from 12:01 AM to 10:00 PM every day, and so far has been visited by hundreds of Palestinians and international supporters.
Visitors to the protest tent have included Carlo Sommaruga, Swiss member of parliament and international relations official, and a delegation of the Swiss Socialist Party, as well as representatives of a number of European political parties and institutions. Sommaruga said that Khalida Jarrar’s case is a “glaring example” of Israeli violations against Palestinians, and said he would raise this case and the rights of the Palestinian people in the Swiss parliament.
Askapena, a Basque organization from the Spanish state, sent a delegation to visit the tent. The Health Work Committees held a conference in Ramallah, which visited the tent with a large delegation, where Dr. Yacob Ghneimat, chair of the Board of Directors, expressed the solidarity of the Health Work Committees with Khalida and said that this order shall not pass. Khalida saluted the work of HWC and their vision of popular health for poor and marginalized people.
A number of Palestinian parliamentarians and political figures visited the tent as well, including Hanan Ashrawi, Dr. Laila Ghannam, the governor of Ramallah/Al-Bireh; a delegation from Fateh, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the People’s Party, Fida, and other organizations.
The General Union of Palestinian Women and national forces in Ramallah visited Khalida Jarrar’s home on Wednesday evening, August 20, sitting in at her home and awaiting any action by the occupation to enforce the military court expulsion order.
Dozens of Palestinian youth returned to Khalida’s home just after midnight August 21, awaiting the 24-hour deadline given to Khalida by the occupation soldiers who stormed their home, preparing to confront occupation soldiers and block any attempt to arrest or remove Khalida.
Ayman Nasser, legal researcher at Addameer, said that “The expulsion decision demonstrates the arrogance of the occupying power in its dealings with the Palestinian people, including the Legislative Council. It is a manifestation of the occupation policy that only sees the Palestinian people as requiring yet more humiliation and oppression. This requires a response from the whole of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian movement.”
“In this period,” he added, “the occupation is returning to a set of policies and practices that characterized past years, including the demolition of many homes in ‘Area A’, the detention of PLC members, the high frequency of arrests, in addition to the threat of the return of the deportation policy. This is an expression of the nature of the occupier, which requires an overall Palestinian national confrontation of the occupier.”
