Pregnant Palestinian woman jailed by Israel appeals for her release

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – The family of a pregnant Palestinian woman jailed by Israel on Wednesday 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 an action against her imprisonment.

"What shall I do if I give birth while I’m away from you (her family)?” al-Deek said in the letter. “I am handcuffed and you know how cesarean operation [is difficult] outside the prison. How will I go through this experience while I’m in prison and alone?"

The Palestinian woman said Israeli prison authorities will hold her in solitary confinement after giving birth to her child.

Al-Deek was detained by Israeli 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 told Anadolu Agency that her daughter is experiencing a difficult psychological situation.

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

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 woman.

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

Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara