JENIN, Palestinian Territories: A Palestinian woman died Monday from injuries inflicted by Israeli forces two months ago, authorities in the occupied West Bank said.
“Former detainee Wafaa Jarrar, 50, from Jenin… died on Monday morning at Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin as a result of very serious injuries sustained during her arrest,” the Palestinian Commission for Detainee and Ex-Detainee Affairs said.
The Israeli army, contacted by AFP, said it was looking into the matter.
Jarrar, the wife of a top Hamas official in Jenin, was arrested on May 21 and subsequently placed under administrative detention, which allows for prolonged detention without charge.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, a watchdog and advocacy group, Jarrar was released nine days after her arrest despite being in administrative custody.
After being released, she was taken to hospital where she remained unconscious until her death on Monday morning.
Amani Sarahneh, a spokeswoman for the Prisoners' Club, told AFP Jarrar “died and her story was buried with her because we don't know exactly how she was injured” while in custody.
Both the commission and the club said in an obituary that Israel committed a “crime” against Jarrar that led to her legs being amputated above the knees at a hospital in the Israeli city of Afula.
The prisoners' club said its lawyer had asked Israeli authorities to return her amputated legs and send her medical reports, but had not received a response.
It claimed that one of her legs was amputated without her family's consent.
Wafaa Jarrar was married to Hamas figure Abdul Jabbar Jarrar, who has also been in administrative detention for more than six months.
Tensions in the occupied West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, have risen sharply since war broke out between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in October.
At least 604 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank since October 7, according to AFP statistics based on official Palestinian figures.
At least 17 Israelis, including soldiers, were killed in Palestinian attacks in the West Bank during the same period, according to official Israeli figures.
Thousands of Palestinians have been detained in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the UN Human Rights Office announced late last month.
They were mostly held incommunicado and in some cases subjected to treatment that could amount to torture, the OHCHR said in a report.
The Israeli military said its detention conditions were in accordance with international law.
