“Save my baby from the cruelty of the occupation”, a pregnant Palestinian woman, jailed by Israel, appeals

The family of a pregnant Palestinian woman, jailed by Israeli occupation has recently appealed for international intervention to set her free to give birth outside prison.

Anhar Al-Deek, 25, from Kafr Ni’ma town, west of Ramallah city, sent a letter to her family appealing to human rights defenders to take action against her imprisonment.

“What shall I do if I give birth while I’m away from you?” Al-Deek said in a letter to her family. “I am handcuffed and you know how difficult a cesarean operation is outside the prison. So, how will I go through this experience while I’m in prison and alone”?

The Palestinian woman said that the Israeli prison authorities will hold her in solitary confinement after giving birth to her child, asking: “How will I protect him from their frightening voices”.

 Al-Deek was detained by Israeli occupation forces five months ago on accusations of attempting to carry out a stabbing attack in an Israeli settlement built near her town. Her husband was allowed to visit her for only one time.

Her mother Aisha Al-Deek told the correspondent of the Syrian News Agency’s (SANA) that “Anhar is handcuffed inside her cell, and she suffers from severe pains in her body as the date of her delivery approaches. We fear for her life and the life of her baby under the harsh conditions of detention..We don’t know what is awaiting her during her delivery in the light of the occupation’s policy of medical negligence towards the prisoners. We have made many appeals for help to save my daughter’s life.”

In a previous statement to Anadolu Agency,  Aisha said that her daughter is experiencing a difficult psychological situation.

She added that the family has reached out to rights organizations and foreign embassies to pile pressure on the Israeli authorities to allow her to give birth to her baby outside prison.

Thaer Hijjeh, the husband of Anhar, said that his wife needs special medical care, especially as she is in her ninth month, pointing out that he cannot bear the pain of the idea that she will give birth to her baby in solitary confinement under dangerous health conditions with unimagined consequences.

He made it clear that his child, who will come to life at any moment, will stay with his mother in the occupation jails regardless to their health and psychological condition and this is another crime by the occupation against the Palestinian prisoners. He urged law institutions and UN organizations to urgently take action to release his wife.

Head of the Studies and Documentation Unit of the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission Abdul Naser Farawneh said that the occupation has detained 130 Palestinian women since the beginning of this year, including Anhar Al-Deek, who was exposed to physical and psychological torture that could cause miscarriage.

Talking to Anadolu agency, Qadri Abu Bakr, the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)’s committee for prisoners’ affairs, called for international intervention to end the inhumane detention of the pregnant Palestinian prisoner.

There are around 4,850 Palestinian detainees in Israeli occupation jails, including 41 women, 225 children and 540 administrative detainees, according to institutions concerned with prisoners’ affairs.

Hamda Mustafa