The Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission said that while many countries around the world celebrate Mother’s Day on 21 March, 12 Palestinian mothers out of 39 women prisoners held in Israeli jails and denied the right to celebrate this occasion with their children.

The committee said in a statement, a copy of which obtained by Safa, that the 12 mothers are not only suffering the hardships of the prisons but they are also suffering from their inability to be with their children on this occasion and all year around.

It underlined that "The children of the imprisoned women miss their mothers on this day and on every day of the year as the Mother's Day occasion comes at a time the imprisoned mothers are forbidden visitation from their children under flimsy security pretexts, and things are becoming increasingly difficult due to restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, including cessation of family visits."

"The mother prisoners in Israeli jails are even living difficult psychological conditions as a result of extreme anxiety and stress, and constantly thinking of the conditions of their children and how they live without their mothers, but the more difficult for the mother prisoner is when her husband is also in prison, which means their children have to live without the care of their parents," it added.

Meanwhile, it explained that the female prisoners live in difficult and harsh conditions and they are subjected to all forms of pressure and arbitrary strict procedures by the prison administration, whether in terms of medical negligence or the policy of storming their rooms and imposing penalties on them.

The committee called on the international community to intervene to stop the suffering of all Palestinian mothers and women inside the Israeli occupation prisons and to pressure Israel to release them and to provide adequate support in order to protect them and their children from the arrogance of the occupation.

Source : Safa