Salutes of freedom to Hanan Saleh Abdullah Barghouti, Umm An’ad, 59, from Kobar village in the Ramallah area, occupied Palestine, freed after nine months in administrative detention, Zionist imprisonment without charge or trial on 3 December 2024.
Hanan had been held in administrative detention since September 2023; she was liberated on 24 November 2023, as part of the prisoner exchange secured by the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza.
After four months, she was once again abducted by occupation soldiers invading her home. Upon her release from Zionist prisons, she spoke about the horrific conditions currently facing Palestinian women detained in Damon prison:
“If we want to talk about the condition of the prisoners, and the women prisoners in particular, it is true that they are strong and their morale is high but the prison conditions are very harsh. I don’t want to talk about the lack of food, the poor food quality and the limited types of food. I want to talk about the prison administration, how it suppresses and there are no more red lines. It exceeded them with all the prisoners, whether by beating, humiliating, through solitary isolation, confiscating clothing, strip searching and harassment. Anything you can imagine, they’ve done it to the female prisoners. So, I hope, the message from the women prisoners, the women prisoners’ message to the whole world and to all concerned: True, we are strong, and we do not accept to be used as a pressure card against the resistance. But at what price will the women prisoners be released? Because the honor that currently exists inside the prisons is being violated, there are no red lines that have not been crossed by the prison administration. On September 25, we experienced major repression. They took the girls out in the yard, handcuffed with their hands behind them, and they were beaten, they were insulted. On 7 October, they took us out and they brought the Yamaz and Keter units, with dogs…On 7 October there were dogs, they beat, humiliated and isolated us. On November 20, they repressed us, it was a major repression. They took us into the yard, handcuffed, with our hands behind our back, blindfolded. We were beaten, they didn’t make exceptions for elderly women. I am 60 years old. I was beaten and insulted. Young girls were also subjected to strip searches by female soldiers. They tried, the prison administration was treating them badly while stripping the prisoners, I can’t say more than that, but all red lines were violated for the women prisoners.”
There are approximately 90 women prisoners out of 10,200 Palestinian prisoners in Zionist jails; note that this number does not include all women from Gaza, many of whom have been subjected to enforced disappearance in the occupation’s torture camps. Of these, approximately 27 are held in administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial. Khalida Jarrar, the prominent Palestinian feminist and leftist scholar, is being held in isolation, away from the women in Damon, in Neve Tirza prison and has been isolated for over 100 days.
Hanan’s husband, Mohammed Barghouti, Abu An’ad, is also held in administrative detention without charge or trial after Zionist occupation soldiers abducted him on 1 August, ordering him to three months in administrative detention on 7 August 2024. His detention was just extended again at the end of October 2024.
Hanan and Mohammed are the parents of three imprisoned sons, Abdullah, Omar and Islam. Their son An’ad was just released from administrative detention on 15 August.
Hanan Barghouti is also the sister of the longest-held Palestinian prisoner, Nael Barghouti, who has been held by the occupation regime for over 44 years. Nael was already one of the longest-held Palestinian prisoners when he was released in the Wafa al-Ahrar exchange, only to be re-abducted three years later.
Hanan and Nael Barghouti are also siblings of Omar Barghouti, Abu ‘Asif, who spent more than 30 years in occupation prisons. Omar was a beloved long-term leader of the prisoners’ movement who spent over 27 years in occupation prisons. He passed away in 2021. Omar’s son Saleh was assassinated by the Zionist regime in 2018 and his son Asem sentenced to four life sentences in occupation prisons.
Upon her liberation from Zionist prisons in the exchange achieved by the Palestinian resistance, Hanan said: “We tell the children of Gaza that we will meet in heaven and victory is yours.”
The re-arrest of Hanan Barghouti is part of an ongoing attack on the women released in the exchange one year ago, as multiple women have been abducted by the occupation again, including Fadwa Hamadeh, Sameh Hijjawi, Walaa Tanja, Dania Hanatsheh, Haneen Masaed, and Aseel Samih Khader.
Hanan Barghouti is a symbol of resistance and steadfastness. Despite multiple medical issues, including high blood pressure and diabetes, she is at the forefront of every demonstration for the release of the prisoners and the liberation of Palestine. The wife, mother, sister and aunt of prisoners and freedom fighters, she has always refused to remain silent even in face of threats of arrest, declaring after her liberation: “The resistance is God’s hand on earth. As long as our resistance is well, we will remain well and we will continue to support the resistance with our children, our souls and our blood.”
For more information about Palestinian women prisoners or to get involved with the independent international campaign for their liberation, please visit Dismantle Damon at https://instagram.com/dismantle_damon or https://t.me/dismantle_damon.
