Who Is Suha Jarrar? And Why Has Her Death Stirred Protests In Palestine?

Who Is Suha Jarrar: The death of the 30-year-old activist Suha Jarrar on July 11 sparked protests in Palestine, asking for the release of Khalida Jarrar so that she can "hug her daughter one last time".

Jarrar, who was the daughter of a Palestinian lawmaker was found dead at her home in the occupied West Bank, her home in Ramallah on Sunday. The cause of her death was a severe heart attack, according to her family members.

Who Was Suha Jarrar?

Jarrar, the daughter of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) member, joined the Al-Haq organisation in 2017 as a gender and environmental policy researcher in the Legal Research and Advocacy Department and worked there until her death, according to a report. She was an advocate for the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, freedom, and dignity.

Back in 2015, Jarrar, being a researcher and social justice activist, wrote on her mother’s detention back in 2015 for The New Arab.

Her mother, who is an elected member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, was arrested and detained by the Israeli forces multiple times and her most recent detention was in October 2019 and was sentenced by an Israeli military court for two years in prison in March 2021, for inciting violence and belonging to a banned organisation.

Khalida's other daughter Yafa Jarrar, a Canadian-Palestinian lawyer, shared a petition urging the release of Khalida so that she can attend Suha's burial.

Please sign and share this petition calling for Israel to release Palestinian leader and parliamentarian Khalida Jarrar. She must be free to bury and mourn her daughter, my sister Suha Jarrar. #FreeKhalidaJarrar https://t.co/xuOjM6VrXR

— Yafa Jarrar (@YafaJarrar) July 12, 2021

Khalida Jarrar was elected in 2006 to the Palestinian legislature as a PFLP representative. She has long been a well-known PFLP politician, focusing on women’s rights and the affairs of prisoners in Israeli jails.

Alhaq.org, mourning Suha's death, wrote that she will "remain a legacy and a role model in her strength, patience, giving, and defiance to the oppression faced by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails."

"Suha will  Her memory will remain etched in the hearts of advocates around the world for freedom and justice in Palestine," it added.

Twitterati mourned the death of Suha and apart from demands of releasing her mother, tweets of blessing her soul and family are also trending on the platform following the death.

See some of the reactions here:

Palestinians are protesting outside Israel’s Ofer military prison, demanding Khalida Jarrar be released so she can bury her daughter Suha. The crowd is much bigger than pictured here. People were chanting “we are all your children, Khalida” moments ago. https://t.co/mxFfKF12Ta

— Yumna (@yumna_patel) July 12, 2021

#freeKhalidaJarrar

Suha Jarrar, a courageous & kind human rights defender, passed away last night. Her loss is a tragedy that is made worse by the fact that her mother, Palestinian Parliamentarian & political prisoner Khalida, is being unjustly held in an Israeli prison. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/T85M2o93JA

— Fadi Quran (@fadiquran) July 12, 2021

You are a mother, a political prisoner. Your daughter died while you are imprisoned by your colonisers who deny you the chance to grieve next to her & your family..
What could be more devastating ?? #FreeKhalidaJarrar & let her hug Suha one last time.

RIP Suha Jarrar 💔 pic.twitter.com/7VXWIxuw9B

— Nesma Ja (@NesmaJa97) July 12, 2021

Losing Suha Jarrar is losing a prominent voice in our movements for Palestine’s liberation. She passed away as her mother spends yet another unjust and unjustified sentence in Israeli prisons amid global silence bc Khalida Jarrar’s politics are always loud, clear and sharp.

— islam (@outvertigo) July 12, 2021