Israel releases widow of Walid Daqqa, places her under house arrest

Israeli authorities have released Palestinian activist Sanaa Salama Daqqa under restrictive conditions, including house arrest and a ban on media contact, following her arrest last month on charges of "incitement to terrorism".

Daqqa, who is the widow of the late Palestinian writer and political prisoner Walid Daqqa, was detained on 29 May in Jerusalem while accompanied by her daughter, Milad.

She was accused of inciting violence through over social media posts; a charge her legal team and rights groups had dismissed as politically motivated.

On Tuesday evening, the Israeli Central Court in Haifa had ordered her release but ruled that she remain confined to her mother's home in Tira until at least mid-June.

The court also imposed a strict gag order, barring her from giving interviews or making any public statements.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club said Daqqa's release had followed a series of legal proceedings in which the Hadera Magistrate's Court repeatedly extended her detention.

Her lawyers, Fadi Baransi and Alaa Talawi, later appealed to the District Court, arguing the arrest had no legal basis.

"The court's decision is essentially an admission that Sanaa’s detention was arbitrary and unjust," Baransi told The New Arab. "All she did was call for the release of her husband's body - a deeply human and moral act. This is not a crime in any legal system grounded in justice."

Daqqa's family confirmed that she is under a media ban. Her cousin, Nadia Daqqa, told TNA: "The imposed media ban reflects a broader strategy aimed at silencing Palestinian voices, particularly those tied to prisoners’ rights. Sanaa has become a symbol for thousands of families with loved ones behind bars. Preventing her from speaking is an attempt to erase that voice."

Walid Daqqa died in April 2024 after 38 years in Israeli custody, amid accusations by rights organisations of deliberate medical neglect. His death reignited scrutiny of Israel’s treatment of long-term Palestinian prisoners, alongside renewed calls for the release of his body.

Sanaa Daqqa was arrested just weeks later, reportedly on the direct orders of Israeli Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and with approval from National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Activists and legal observers have described her detention as part of a broader crackdown on political expression, particularly among Palestinian citizens of Israel.

"This isn’t freedom," said Jerusalem-based activist Fatheia Amjad. "She may be home, but she’s under surveillance, forbidden from speaking even about her grief. She’s a hostage in her mother’s house."

Amjad said the release was not an act of leniency but the result of sustained legal and public pressure. "This outcome is the product of a struggle that began when Sanaa was detained. The court didn’t grant her freedom; it was forced to back down after the injustice became impossible to ignore."

She also pointed to what she described as a systematic campaign of repression: "This case is part of something bigger; arrests over Facebook posts, mothers interrogated in front of their children, activists punished not for what they’ve done, but for who they are. Sanaa is being targeted because she’s the wife of a martyr, a former prisoner, and a woman who speaks out."

Palestinian human rights groups have condemned Israel’s growing reliance on "electronic incitement" laws, which they say are being used to criminalise dissent, especially among Palestinian citizens of Israel.

According to these groups, Daqqa's arrest fits into a broader effort to silence prominent voices and intimidate communities affected by occupation and incarceration.