Emotional video shows Palestinian prisoner meeting son 'conceived by smuggled sperm' for first time

Emotional video shows Palestinian prisoner meeting son 'conceived by smuggled sperm' for first time
Palestinian prisoner Salah Hussein met his son for the first time after being freed from an Israeli prison.
2 min read
15 June, 2020
Salah Hussein is free after 15 years [Facebook]
Emotions ran high on Sunday after a Palestinian prisoner reunited with his family, including meeting his five-year-old son who was conceived with smuggled sperm for the first time.

Salah Hussein from the town of Beit Duqqu, near occupied East Jerusalem, was imprisoned for 15 years.

Hussein’s wife introduced her son to her father, saying: “this is baba. We have waited a long time. Here is our sweet baba!”

Their five-year-old son Ali was conceived through Hussein smuggling his sperm out of the Israeli Ktzi'ot Prison in Negev.

He was initially supposed to be released on Thursday, but was re-arrested, in a move dubbed by his family as an Israeli attempt of psychological torment. At the time, Hussein was transferred to Ashkelon investigation centre where even his lawyer was prevented from seeing him.

He was then re-released on Sunday and united with his family. 

Israel currently holds around 5,700 Palestinian prisoners, including 200 children, 44 women, five members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and 27 journalists. 

Reports suggest 470 Palestinian prisoners are held in "administrative detention" without charge or trial.

Under the administrative detention order, Israel detains Palestinians for six months at a time in intervals that can be extended indefinitely.

Israel has occupied the West Bank illegally since 1967, and commits various abuses against Palestinian civilians, human rights groups say.

It later annexed east Jerusalem and considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians view the eastern sector as the capital of their future state.

Read more: Coronavirus under occupation: Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails fear the worst

More than 600,000 Israeli Jews live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, in constructions considered illegal under international law.

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