Saadia Matar (a.k.a. Farajallah), 68, died Saturday morning in Damon Prison in the Carmel mountains. According to the Israel Prison Service, Farajallah, the mother of eight, was chronically ill and received medical treatment. It was also reported that last week she was released from the hospital and returned to prison and that the circumstances of her death are under investigation.
PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayya called on the international human rights organizations to open an investigation into the circumstances of Farajallah’s death and to pressure Israel to release all the female and sick security prisoners. A kind of Get out of jail free card for terrorist murderers who are female or in poor health.
Farajallah, a resident of the town of Adna in the Hebron area, was arrested in December near the Cave of the Patriarchs for an attempted stabbing of an IDF soldier. On June 28, she appeared in court in a wheelchair and was sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of 15,000 shekels ($4,247). According to PA sources, she suffered from several chronic illnesses including diabetes and high blood pressure.
According to the IPS, Farajallah required medical attention in the prison on Saturday morning. The ward’s paramedic was called and a mobile ICU unit was later called in to perform resuscitation, but her death was eventually determined.
As in any case of the death of a prisoner, the circumstances of the incident will be investigated.
On Sunday, the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Detainees and Ex-Prisoners Affairs submitted a request to the Haifa Magistrate’s Court for an autopsy on Farajallah’s body. The request was submitted by the Commission’s attorney Dr. Karim Ajwa and demanded an investigation into the circumstances behind the prisoner’s death as well as for Israel to hand over her body to her family.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club (PPC) announced on Sunday that Farajallah was subjected to medical negligence. Amjad Najjar, head of the PPC, told the news outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Farajallah was beaten by Israeli security during her detention.
Below is a sample of the anti-Israel campaign that’s been brewing for a day now and will continue to reverberate.
Today, Saadia Farajallah, the oldest female prisoner(64 years old)passed away after she lost consciousness in al-Damon Prison. Saadia has been facing ongoing medical negligence; just 4 days ago, she showed up in the court in a wheelchair after a significant decline in her health. pic.twitter.com/6UYwzqiPRM
— MetrasGlobal (@Metras_global) July 2, 2022
