IDF court upholds admin. detention of Palestinian-Jordanian woman

The Ofer Military Court on Thursday upheld the administrative detention of Heba al-Labadi, a Palestinian-Jordanian woman who was arrested last August for her alleged involvement in “serious security offenses.”

The Palestinian Prisoners Commission in the West Bank said the decision to keep Labadi in administrative detention for six months was made during a closed hearing.

The Israeli authorities, the commission said, have refused to provide Labadi’s lawyers with details concerning the charges against her. However, some reports have suggested that her arrest may be connected to a meeting she had with a Hezbollah activist during a recent visit to Lebanon.

According to the commission, the woman has been on hunger strike for the past three weeks. She was arrested when she arrived at the Allenby Bridge, together with her mother and aunt, to attend a cousin’s wedding in Nablus.

One of Labadi’s lawyers, Ruslan Mahajneh, said that she was determined to continue her hunger strike until the Israeli authorities agree to release her. He called on the Jordanian government to step up pressure on Israel to release the woman.

The Jordanian authorities have called for Labadi’s immediate release; a diplomat from the Jordanian Embassy in Israel has visited her in prison.

Fadi Farah, spokesman for the National Committee for [Jordanian] Prisoners in Israel, said that Labadi is one of 22 Jordanians held in Israeli prisons.

“Labadi remained under investigation for 35 days, during which she received many threats and horrible treatment that caused her to lose 10 kilograms,” Farah told The Jordan Times on Tuesday.