Occupied Jerusalem-SANA
After seven harsh years in the Israeli occupation prisons, Amal Taqatqa, the oldest Palestinian female captive, embraced freedom and returned a few days ago to her hometown of Beit Fajjar in the city of Bethlehem in the West Bank to confirm that the arrest stole seven years of her life, but it did not affect her determination and faith in the resistance as the only way to liberate Palestine.
On the first of December 2014, the occupation forces stationed at one of its checkpoints between the cities of Bethlehem and Hebron in the West Bank fired bullets and poison gas canisters at Amal, who was going to Hebron to buy some supplies for her wedding party, and hit her with six bullets that settled in the chest, waist, hand and foot and arrested her, starting a suffering that extended for seven Years.
In an interview with Wafa Agency, Amal said: “A week after my injury, I woke up, and the first thing I heard was the voice of one of the occupation forces saying to me: Welcome to the world of life.” At that time, I realized that I might die at any moment at the hands of any of them criminals. I cannot forget him. It was in the first period of my detention when the occupation authorities bargained with me to confess to false charges in exchange for providing me with treatment.
Amal explained that the joy of her liberation is incomplete because 31 female prisoners, including 9 mothers, suffer torment in the prisons of the occupation, which wages a psychological war against the prisoners, more deadly and more severe than physical torture. The fingers of her hands were intertwined and the upper parts of them were amputated, and she would not be able to use them in her lifetime, but the unbeatable will of Israa enabled her to use her hands to make handicrafts of beads and master the art of Arabic calligraphy, and all the captives resort to it when they want to write anything.
Amal indicated that the suffering of female prisoners is exacerbated by deliberate medical neglect, solitary confinement, and denial of visits and the embrace of their children, pointing out that the occupation authorities follow a policy of systematic killing against all prisoners, which led to the death of a large number of them as martyrs, the last of whom was the martyr Sami Al-Amour.
Amal explained that the years of detention made her stronger and more steadfast, and her wounds strengthened her faith in Palestine. She is also grateful for these wounds because they made her blood shed on the soil of the country, indicating that despite the brutality of the occupation and all its restrictions on us, it was not able to cancel our presence or undermine our resolve and will. The occupation should stop its violations against them and release them.
About 5,000 Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails face harsh detention conditions, including about 600 prisoners who need urgent medical intervention.
Mohammed Al-Omar
