Pregnant Palestinian Detainee Sent to House Arrest Following Protests

An Israeli military court ordered the release to house arrest on Thursday, September 2, of the pregnant Palestinian prisoner Anhar Al-Deek, charged with the attempted stabbing of an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank. The communist newspaper Al-Ittihad reported on Friday that Al-Deek was released to her home after bail was posted for her in the sum of NIS 40,000 (about $12,000).

Palestinian women in Ramallah rally for the release of Anhar Al-Deek so that she can deliver her baby outside prison. The sign in Arabic to the right of the photograph reads in part: "Your body is in prison, but your spirit is not locked up…"

Palestinian women in Ramallah rally for the release of Anhar Al-Deek so that she can deliver her baby outside prison. The sign in Arabic to the right of the photograph reads in part: “Your body is in prison, but your spirit is not locked up…” (Photo: Al-Ittihad)

Last week, Al-Deek appealed to the international community to pressure Israel into releasing her and allowing her to give birth outside prison. In a letter to her family she wrote, “How can I manage to give birth far away from you? I am tied up; how can I give birth via caesarean section when I am alone in prison?” She added, “I am exhausted, and have severe pain in my pelvis and legs as a result of sleeping on a prison bed. I don’t know how I will possibly be able to sleep on it after my delivery operation.”

Last Sunday, August 29, dozens Arab and Jewish activists demanding the release of Al-Deek rallied outside of the Damon Prison in northern Israel where she was being held. Among the protestors were, MK Aida Touma-Sliman (Hadash – Joint List), Dahil Hamed, head of the Hadash faction in the Histadrut, and several Communist Party of Israel members, Zo Haderech had reported.

The 25-year-old woman from the village of Naima near Ramallah, was arrested in March 2021 at the illegal outpost settlement of Sdeh Ephraim, which lies adjacent to the Palestinian town of Ras Karkar in the occupied central West Bank, after she allegedly attempted to stab a woman settler. In April, an Israeli military judge ordered that she remain in imprisoned until the end of the proceedings against her.

Had Al-Deek’s appeal to delivery her baby at home been rejected, she would have been the first Palestinian detainee to give birth in an Israeli prison since 2008. Her case drew Palestinian, Israeli and international attention, with campaigns on social media calling for her release.

Related: Activists Demand Release from Jail of Pregnant Palestinian Woman