Walid Daqqa’s defiance and suffering while in Israeli custody
Ramallah, occupied West Bank – “In general, my son or daughter, my newborn, whom I will call Milad, may compose a tune that has not yet been composed. He or she may become an astronomer or discover a cure for cancer. Perhaps he or she will achieve what our generations have not been able to do, which is to resolve the conflict so that there is real peace and security instead of your imaginary security,” Walid Daqqa told an Israeli judge at his trial after his sperm out of prison.
His wife Sana Salameh gave birth to their daughter Milad in 2020 after becoming pregnant with the sperm of her long-imprisoned husband – a Palestinian writer and activist.
Fathering Milad allowed 61-year-old Daqqa to defy Israeli prison authorities, who prevented him from meeting his wife, even though Israeli law allows the conception of children in prison.
Daqqa married Salameh in 1999 while serving a 37-year prison sentence for his involvement in the murder of an Israeli soldier. He was due to be released in February after serving his prison sentence, but his sentence was extended by two years for mobile phone smuggling.
Israel has set an example for Daqqa for his defiance by also preventing him from receiving proper treatment and parole because of his deteriorating health.
Cancer diagnosis
He was diagnosed with advanced bone marrow cancer in December 2022 and stated that he urgently needed a transplant, but has not yet had a transplant.
On May 22, Daqqa was transferred to the intensive care unit of Assaf Harofeh Hospital south of Tel Aviv due to further health complications. But three days later, Israeli authorities returned him to Israel’s Ramleh Prison Clinic, which is notorious for its harsh conditions, despite calls from rights groups to keep him hospitalized for constant monitoring and treatment if he is not released.
His imprisonment also violates the 1993 Oslo Accords, which included a clause for the release of all Palestinian prisoners held prior to the signing of the agreement.
Salameh, 52, expressed fear over Daqqa’s swift return to Ramleh Prison Clinic. “Israel is trying to kill Walid through medical negligence,” she told Al Jazeera.
He suffered from acute pneumonia and kidney failure, after which he underwent surgery on April 12 to remove a large part of his right lung. He has since suffered complications from the surgery, as well as severe respiratory suffocation and infection.
“Israel insists on sending him back to Ramleh Prison Clinic, and every time his lung becomes infected, we fear for his life, but we are forbidden to accompany him during his illness,” Salameh said.
The Ramleh Prison Clinic is the only place dedicated to caring for sick Palestinian prisoners. The two-room clinic is located in part of a security prison built by Britain in 1934, which permanently houses injured and chronically ill Palestinian prisoners.
It is not suitable for the medical treatment and care needed in critical cases, with some Palestinian prisoners describing it as the “slaughterhouse” due to the high number of casualties.
Danger to his life
On May 24, an Israeli court postponed a meeting of the probation commission for a week to consider Daqqa’s early release, despite medical reports from the Israeli prison authority acknowledging the seriousness of his condition and the danger to his life. But the prosecution has so far resisted his release.
The Israeli officers in the prison told him they would not let him have a child, but he won by having Milad
“Procedures are long and slow and we can resort to higher courts,” Salameh said.
The delay in deciding the case of Daqqa and other ailing prisoners was described by Qadura Fares, the director of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, the main Palestinian NGO for prisoners’ rights, as a policy of “slow, systematic killing”.
Israel’s extension of the judicial process has forced the family, as well as organizations dealing with prisoners’ affairs, to launch a campaign for his release under the slogan #Free_Walid_Daqqa.
While the efforts of his family and supporters have highlighted the plight of Daqqa and other detainees, Qadura said he does not believe their efforts will result in his release. He was referring to statements by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir that Walid “should end his life in prison”.
“There are only two years left of Walid’s sentence, yet an Israeli minister is coming out and calling for his life in prison to end. This is an explicit call from the highest levels of the Israeli government to kill him,” Qadura told Al Jazeera.
The family believes that the Israeli authorities are retaliating against Daqqa for his resistance to the illegal Israeli occupation.
“Israel is trying to retaliate against Walid by denying him treatment because he rejected all Israeli bargains during his last sentence, an example of an unprecedented state of defiance,” Salameh said, referring to Daqqa’s refusal to compromise his activist role .
Daqqa managed to get a bachelor’s and master’s degree in prison, despite the restrictions imposed on him, including the banning of books. He also published novels, articles and poems about the Palestinian struggle against the occupation, which have reached the whole world.
Daqqa was denied the chance to say goodbye to his father before his death or to visit his mother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, ten years ago. He was also barred from four previous prisoner exchanges in which his name was mentioned.
Despite the pain his family has experienced, they hope that Daqqa will be able to leave prison alive to meet Milad, who now accompanies her mother to all the protests she organizes for her father’s release.
One of the biggest challenges he presented to prison authorities was marrying Salameh and smuggling sperm that got her pregnant 21 years later. After discovering this, Israel severely punished him, isolated him and prevented him from receiving visitors.
“The Israeli officers in the prison told him they would not let him have a child, but he won by having Milad,” his wife told Al Jazeera.
