umkahlil

The following story highlights Israel's despicable methods of recruiting Palestinian collaborators and the inhumane, undemocratic, and inequitable measures it employs in order to maintain its "Jewish" demographics. Because Dalia Basheer's husband, Saed Awad refused to collaborate, Dalia was denied entry to Jerusalem to visit her hospitalized daughter, six, who died ten days later, and Dalia was forced to leave for Jordan, separating her from her husband and her two surviving children.

http://www.imemc.org/article/50348?print_page=true

by Maisa Abu Ghazalah - IMEMC News

Within the space of twenty four hours Dialaia Basheer's life was changed – instead of going to Jerusalem to visit her daughter in hospital she ended up in Amman. This happened when Israeli soldiers at the nearby military checkpoint of Al Zea'im detained her and forced her to leave for Jordan because she did not have a permit to enter Jerusalem.

Dalia's husband, Sa'eed Awad, was told by the Israeli authorities that she would be granted a permit if he agreed to become an informer for Israeli intelligence.

If not Dalia would be either abducted and deprived of seeing her children or forcibly deported to Jordan thereby breaking the family apart.

A'wad told the Palestine News Network that last July despite the fact that their daughter was being treated in the Al-Maqased hospital in East Jerusalem he chose to make his wife to travel to Jordan rather than see her abducted. There was absolutely no way he would agree to become a collaborator.

He added that "My wife was going to the al Maqased hospital to visit our six year old daughter Sadeem. At the military checkpoint she was forced from the vehicle and her Jordanian passport taken from her. Then an Israeli officer called me and told me to come to the checkpoint. Over the phone he told me that unless I agreed to become a collaborator for Israeli intelligence my wife would be kidnapped or she would be forced to travel alone to Jordan the next day. The only choice I could make was allow her to be sent to Jordan even though our situation was very difficult because of anxieties caused by the recent death of my father-in-law and our daughter's illness. He said he feared that the ordeal had contributed to the death of their daughter. She died in hospital 10 days after his wife had been forced to leave for Jordan. It was also terrible that his wife had not been able to be present when she died or take part in the grieving after her death.

A'wad added that he is now living in the nearby town of Abu Dis taking care of his two surviving children who are both suffering as a result of their mother's absence. He went on to say that his wife had not left the Palestinian territories since 1999 and had been waiting for a unification document and a Palestinian identity card. She had not managed to get these because of delays in Israeli procedures.

Al Quds Center for Democracy and Human Rights stated that imposing restrictions on the freedom of movement and place of residence on Palestinians are clear violations of the article #13 of the International Human Rights Declaration of 1948. Each individual has the right to leave any country including his own and return to it. The center had also called for the Israeli government to stop its policy of expulsions and ethnic cleansing which it is carrying out against the residents of East Jerusalem. It also demanded the cessation of all measures and procedures which lead to the separation and dispersal of Palestinian families whether through the construction of the Separation Wall or other methods. Residents and their families should be able to move around freely and be able to live in any part of the Palestinian territories including the city of east Jerusalem.

Translated by Manar Jibrin