Palestine scholars reject US extradition request for female Palestinian freed from Israeli Jail

The Palestine Scholars Association in the Diaspora in a statement on Saturday rejected an American request to extradite, Ahlam al-Tamimi, the female Palestinian prisoner freed from an Israeli jail.

“We have been closely following the issue of the US request from Jordan to extradite the freed prisoner Ahlam al-Tamimi and we are deeply concerned about the oppressive policies of the Americans,” the statement said.

Image of Ahlam al-Tamimi

The association observed that US citizens had joined Israeli forces and had taken part in the “killing” of Palestinians. It said US citizens had also helped in the desecration of holy sites and had assisted the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands.  It said those citizens who had killed Palestinians were often cleared of the “crime”, but when killed while fighting for the Israeli military, they were referred to as “civilians.”

Meanwhile, the statement described the extradition request as a shocking policy of “double standards” as it coincided with the anniversary of the death of the American activist Rachel Corrie who was killed by Israeli bulldozers in Gaza on 16 March 2003.

The association noted that the US have not requested the extradition or prosecution of, what it referred to as, the “criminals” who killed Corrie, the 23-year-old unarmed American peace activist.

Addressing an audience in the Jordanian capital Amman, the Palestinian scholars stressed that it will not be handing over Al-Tamimi as the association considered such a move as a clear violation of “religious rules” based on the Holy Qur’an.

Concluding the statement, the scholars called on the Jordanian government and parliament, who also rejected the US extradition request. They also decided to grant Al-Tamimi “honorary membership” of the association as a reward for the sacrifices she had made for the Palestinian cause.