:Gaza- Nawa Network- Filastiniyat
Since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation has intensified its aggression by targeting Palestinian women without any legal justification. According to human rights organizations, 525 women have been detained since the war began. Currently, 37 female prisoners remain in Israeli jails, including two who are in their fifth month of pregnancy, highlighting the serious humanitarian crisis faced by Palestinian women under occupation.
The interrogation lasted for three hours, during which she was seated on a chair, with her hands and feet shackled, and without a blindfold.
At dawn on February 25, Rimaa Al-Balwi's family woke to the sound of brutal knocks on the door of their home in the village of Kafr Labad in Tulkarm. When they opened the door, they found it was the Israeli occupation forces knocking so violently. The Israeli occupation demanded Rima’s ID, took her to a room to search her clothes, then arrested her, blindfolded her, and tied her hands with a plastic zip tie. They did not allow her to say goodbye to her family, change clothes, or even wear a jacket to protect herself from the cold. Rima was three months pregnant, yet they did not let her take her medications. She was taken away in a military jeep, marking the beginning of an uncertain journey of detention.
Rima's suffering continued after her arrest. In Israeli occupation prisons, it is challenging for Rima’s family to visit her. Only her lawyer was allowed to visit her in Damon Prison. The lawyer reported that Rima was first taken to a military camp as her initial detention site, and was later transferred to Ariel military camp, located near the village of Salfit.
Her family reported that Rima was interrogated by a single male officer, amid shouting, threats, and intimidation, without the presence of a female soldier. The interrogation lasted for three hours, during which she was seated on a chair, with her hands and feet shackled, and without a blindfold.
""Words like 'mercy' and prayers are treated as incitement under vague military laws."
According to the Palestinian prisoners’ rights organization Addameer, the Israeli military prosecution bases its decisions against Palestinians on Articles 251 and 199(c) of Military Order No. 1651 of 2009. The main issue with these legal provisions lies in the vague definitions of what constitutes incitement, such as praise, support, or encouragement. These broad and ambiguous terms allow the prosecution and courts to interpret them very widely.
Such wide-ranging powers have led to labeling words like “mercy” or “prayers for martyrs,” and even the simple act of sharing a picture of Al-Aqsa Mosque with a caption, as acts of incitement. In doing so, these expressions are stripped of their deeply human meanings and are instead treated as inciting, despite being recognized by most Palestinians as fundamental human expressions tied to the concept of martyrdom and the significance of their places of worship.
In this context, the Israeli military prosecution at Salem Military Court filed an indictment against detainee Rimaa Al-Balwy, which initially included more than 60 charges related to social media posts, before being reduced to fewer posts. According to a report by Addameer, the prosecution viewed these posts as incitement to violence and support for the events of October 7. However, what stands out in Rimaa’s case is that the posts included in the indictment were published between October 7, 2023, and January 24, 2025, while her arrest occurred on February 25, 2025. This raises serious questions about the legality of the arrest and the relevance of old posts to the definition of incitement, which is generally tied to ongoing events on the ground.
شبكة نوى، فلسطينيات: "Rimaa Al-Balwy, three months pregnant, is detained in inhumane conditions, while her young daughters endure the unbearable absence of their mother."
It is difficult for children to live without a mother’s affection, especially when she has been arrested without any reasonable charge. Rimaa is a mother of two young girls, Yafa (seven years old) and Lamar (five years old), and is three months pregnant. She lives in harsh conditions following her arrest. Her brother describes the suffering of the two little girls, who desperately need their mother’s presence, saying: “This is something that no family member can make up for. Time passes, and tears fill the eyes of the young girls who long for the embrace of their mother, which has been stolen from them by the occupation—whether at bedtime, during play, or in their constant questions about her whereabouts and when she will return."
As reported by the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Rimaa lives in Damon Prison alongside 23 other female detainees, 14 of whom are mothers. They endure harsh conditions that lack even the most basic standards of human dignity: food shortages, abuse, mistreatment, and inadequate medical care. These conditions have worsened since the events of October 7, 2023, amid the brutal campaign targeting detainees and depriving them of their most basic human rights to a dignified life.
Being three months pregnant, Rimaa faces even greater suffering. She fears giving birth in a place that lacks the minimum requirements for human life, and she is denied medical care appropriate for a pregnant woman. The prison administration does not provide her with regular checkups or any attention to her health or the health of her baby. Even water, as Rimaa says, is unfit for drinking due to its poor quality. The food is also inadequate for her needs as a pregnant woman or for the health of her unborn child, and the prison administration does not provide her with essential supplements or vitamins necessary for a healthy pregnancy.
