“Israeli authorities must immediately release Ghassan Najjar who was arrested solely because of his peaceful activism to protect the olive harvest season in Burin. Israeli intelligence agents had explicitly threatened Ghassan Najjar, co-founder of Burin’s Land and Farming Agricultural Cooperative, that he would be arrested if he did not stop his activism. His activism includes community organizing, supporting mutual aid among farmers through the cooperative, organizing an annual Kite Festival in the village and leading numerous cultural initiatives. Ghassan Najjar had been facing repeated threats since the start of the olive harvest season and their frequency intensified during the week prior to his arrest.
“A military interrogator informed Ghassan Najjar’s lawyer that he is likely to be placed under administrative detention, a tactic systematically used by Israeli authorities to punish and persecute Palestinians by holding them indefinitely without charges or trial based on secret evidence they cannot access. As of October 2026, Israeli authorities had been holding 3,101 Palestinians under administrative detention. Ghassan Najjar had already spent nearly a decade in Israeli jails, mostly under administrative detention. His first arrest came when he was just 15 years old.
“Like Palestinian human rights defender Ayman Bani Owda and countless other Palestinians, Ghassan Najjar is being hounded by a discriminatory justice system that has played a key role in legitimizing and maintaining Israel’s system of apartheid and unlawful occupation. States with influence on Israel must use their leverage to pressure Israeli authorities into releasing all arbitrarily detained Palestinians, including Ghassan Najjar, and finally end their use of administrative detention.”
Burin is a Palestinian village located south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank. For over two decades, the village has been subjected to frequent attacks by Israeli settlers and repeated military raids by Israeli forces, significantly affecting the daily lives and livelihoods of its residents. These incidents include assaults on Palestinian residents and their property, damage to agricultural land, and restrictions on farmers’ access to their lands, particularly during the olive harvest season.
In addition to his role in Burin’s Land and Farming Agricultural Cooperative, Ghassan Najjar, 36, is the coordinator for the Sumoud network supporting farmers and shepherds, including during the olive harvest season. He is currently held in the Huwara military detention facility.
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/profile/ghassan-najjar
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