Shatha
Odeh Abu Fannouneh

Background and Work

Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh served as Director of the Health Work Committees, a Palestinian organization providing health services to communities in remote areas of the West Bank where access to medical care was limited. The organization ran mobile clinics, trained local health workers, and coordinated emergency medical responses in areas underserved by permanent facilities. She managed the organization's day-to-day operations, including its staff, funding, and outreach programs.

The Arrest

On 7 July 2021, fifteen Israeli soldiers raided Shatha's home. They seized her mobile phone, the keys to the Health Work Committees' car, and the vehicle itself. She was taken to the Ofer Military Camp in Ramallah and interrogated for nine hours. She was then transferred to Hasharon detention facility, located outside the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Her family members could not travel to visit her; Israeli law required security permits that they did not hold.

Her arrest followed a raid on the Health Work Committees' Ramallah office on 9 June 2021, during which Israeli forces seized the organization's computers.

Detention Conditions and Health

Shatha was held in Hasharon and later transferred on 27 July 2021 to Damoun Female Prison in Haifa. During her detention in Hasharon, her cell lacked pillows and blankets and was under constant camera surveillance. Israeli authorities denied her family and lawyers' requests to bring her clean clothes until 25 July; she appeared at her first three court hearings in the same garments.

Shatha has several chronic illnesses. Prison authorities denied her access to one of her prescribed medications until 15 July, more than a week after her arrest. She lost a significant amount of weight during her detention, and her health condition deteriorated.

Legal Proceedings

Shatha's first hearing before the Ofer Military Court took place on 8 July 2021. Her detention was extended to 14 July for further investigation. On 14 July, a second hearing extended her detention for five more days. On 19 July, the prosecutor requested eight additional days to prepare charges, and the judge extended her detention again. On 26 July, formal charges were filed: holding a position in an unlawful association, receiving and bringing funds illegally into the area, receiving funds and support fraudulently, fraudulent use of documents, and presence at a public event on 14 May 2019. The last charge related to her attendance at a memorial event for Rabah Mhana, a former colleague at the Health Work Committees and a member of the political bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

All hearings were conducted in Hebrew, a language Shatha does not speak and her family does not understand. On 17 August 2021, the list of charges was orally translated into Arabic by a translator who, according to Shatha's lawyer, made mistakes and added charges that had not been formally pressed. A further hearing was scheduled for 4 October 2021.

On 12 May 2022, the Ofer Military Court sentenced her to 16 months in prison and a fine of 30,000 shekels, plus 12 months suspended for five years on condition that she does not continue her human rights work. She was released early on 3 June 2022, after serving two thirds of her term.

Context

The charges against Shatha centered on her role as Director of the Health Work Committees and her participation in a 2019 public memorial. The organization has been targeted by Israeli authorities, including the June 2021 raid on its Ramallah office. Shatha's detention and trial before a military court are part of a broader pattern of prosecuting Palestinian civil-society leaders under association laws that criminalize affiliation with organizations designated by Israeli military orders.