Israa Jaabis

Israa Jaabis (born 22 July 1986) is a Palestinian woman who has been imprisoned since 2015 in Israeli prison.

Car explosion incident[]

On Oct. 11, 2015, Israa Jaabis, 31, was en route to her home in Jerusalem, about 500 meters away from an Israeli military checkpoint, when she detonated a gas cylinder, and the car caught fire. The Israeli military accused Jabbis of intentionally setting her car on fire, which she has vehemently denied and was never proven. A year later, Jaabis was sentenced to 11 years in prison.^[1][2]

Meeting son[]

Israa Jaabis has one son, Mutasem Jaabis, 11 (as of 2020), whom his aunt Muna Jaabis takes care of. Mutasem is denied access to his mother by the State is Israel and is unable to visit his mother at regular intervals in Israel's northern HaSharon Prison. One special meeting was arranged by the Red Cross between the mother and son after a year and a half in Israeli custody after several futile attempts. Her son saw her full face for the first time since the accident. Israeli prisons don’t allow meetings between inmates and visitors and are usually done by phone if they are allowed with a glass wall in between the prisoner and visitor. ^[1]

In popular culture[]

Jaabis's story was featured in a documentary film Advocate in 2019.^[3]

References[]