Palestinian Political Prisoners Have Been Smuggling Something Out Of The Israeli Jails To Extend Their Lineage

Prisoners across the globe have, on numerous occasions, gotten their hands on items which are banned in prison, by smuggling-in such items. However, Palestinian political prisoners have had to smuggle something out.

Drugs, cigarettes, weapons and other contraband are common items that are smuggled within jails across the world. Jail authorities have a strict policy about these items. But Palestinian political prisoners face a different dilemma. They have been imprisoned on accounts of their affiliation with the opposition. These people do not seem to seek such items, but instead are concerned about their families, more specifically about their wives and children.

Unlike other detainees, political prisoners, or as they’re locally known, ‘Security Prisoners’ languishing in Israeli jails do not have right to conjugal visits. In other words, these men cannot have any physical and intimate contact whatsoever with their wives. Under such tricky and restrictive circumstances, Palestinian political prisoners have resorted to smuggling their sperm out of the jail so that they could father a child, reported OccPalGaza.

Nabil Masalmeh was jailed for his involvement in clashes with the Israeli military during the Second Intifada. He has been inside an Israeli high-security prison for the past 14 years and he and his wife have had no physical contact since then. However, his wife Samahar Masalmeh delivered a baby about two weeks ago. Confirming the same, she said,

“My two other children wanted a little brother or sister, and by the time my husband gets out of jail I will be 47 and too old to bear children. When we came up with the idea, we consulted the doctor and we were told that it’s normal. We’d just have to bring the sample.”

Eventually Nabil managed to smuggle out the ‘sample’ and Samahar conceived little Karim.

Interestingly, the Masalmeh family isn’t alone, reported the Washington Post. According to Dr. Salim Abu Khaizaran, director of the Razan Center—a fertility clinic that has been performing the treatment—so far 21 women have conceived using sperm smuggled out of Israeli jails. Though the doctors do not deny treatment, they demand that two first-degree relatives on both the wife’s and husband’s side confirm where the sample comes from.

The idea of In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is generally frowned upon; however, regions like these are witnessing some major changes regarding population control. Now using such techniques, political prisoners too can father a child using modern science and some secret logistical channel.

[Image Credit | Ruth Eglash/The Washington Post, Vice]