Arrest:
At dawn on the 25th of February, the family of detainee Rima Balawi was awakened in terror by loud banging on the doors of their home in the village of Kufr Al-Labad, near Tulkarm. When they rushed to open the doors, they discovered that the visitors were a heavily armed force from the occupation army. After storming the house, the soldiers demanded her identification, and a female soldier took her to the bedroom for a body search before deciding to arrest her without allowing her to say goodbye to her family. She was not even allowed to change her clothes or put on a jacket to protect her from the cold, nor was she permitted to take her medication, despite being three months pregnant.
Following the arrest, the forces bound her hands with plastic zip ties and blindfolded her before placing her in a military jeep, marking the beginning of an unknown journey of detention, without any knowledge of her destination or what awaited her next.
We later learned through her lawyer’s visit to Damon Prison that after her arrest, Rima’s next stop was a military camp, followed by a detention center affiliated with the police station in the "Ariel" settlement, built on the lands of several villages in Salfit (Marda, Iskaka, Kifl Haris). There, she was taken to an interrogation room, where she faced an interrogator alone, without the presence of a female soldier. She was subjected to threats, shouting, and intimidation tactics. The interrogation lasted for about three hours while she sat on a chair, her hands and feet shackled, with only the blindfold removed.
Afterward, she was transferred to Hasharon Prison, known for its harsh humanitarian conditions, where she was placed in a cold and dirty cell. When she informed them that she was pregnant, she was taken to the prison clinic, but the doctor claimed it was not within his expertise. As a result, she was transferred to an external hospital for tests to confirm her pregnancy. Once her condition was verified, she was returned to Hasharon Prison, where she spent her first night as a pregnant detainee under dire conditions.
The next day, she was transferred to Damon Prison, which became her permanent place of detention. The conditions there were no better than those in Hasharon, whether in terms of food, water, or daily life, especially for a pregnant woman in need of special care and attention for herself and her unborn child amid such harsh circumstances.
Arrest on Charges of Incitement: The Occupation’s Tool to Strip Palestinians of Their Freedom
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli occupation forces have escalated their arrest campaigns against Palestinians at an unprecedented level, often based on the charge of "incitement" linked to social media posts. These campaigns have targeted hundreds of Palestinians, making incitement accusations a tool used by the occupation as a pretext to detain the entire Palestinian community amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The Israeli military prosecution justifies its actions against Palestinians using Articles 251 and 199(c) of Military Order No. 1651 of 2009. The main issue with these legal provisions is that definitions of what constitutes incitement such as praise, endorsement, or encouragement are vague and open to broad interpretation by the judiciary and prosecution. This expansive authority has led to words like "mercy" or expressing condolences for martyrs and even posting an image of Al-Aqsa Mosque with a simple caption, being classified as incitement. Such expressions, deeply rooted in Palestinian culture and spirituality, are stripped of their humanitarian essence and reframed as inciting content.
In this context, the Israeli military prosecution at Salem Military Court filed an indictment against detainee Rima Balawi, accusing her of over 60 social media posts before reducing the number. The prosecution claimed that these posts incited violence and expressed support for the events of October 7. However, a key aspect of Rima’s case is that the posts cited in the indictment were published between October 7, 2023, and January 24, 2025, while her arrest took place on February 25, 2025. This raises serious questions about the legality of her detention and whether old social media posts can truly be considered incitement, especially when incitement is generally understood to be tied to ongoing events on the ground.
On the other hand, this arrest highlights the occupation's oppressive measures in persecuting Palestinians for their opinions, which constitutes a violation of one of the most fundamental human rights—the right to freedom of expression. This right is systematically violated through the military judicial system and its unjust laws.
In Rima’s case, we see how she now faces a prison sentence simply for expressing her personal views, all while enduring inhumane conditions in Damon Prison. Her emotions are torn between fear for her unborn child’s well-being amid the harsh conditions faced by female detainees and the relentless pressure of the incitement charge always looming over her. Despite her pregnancy, no consideration is given to her health or humanitarian needs, leaving her to struggle under a system that disregards her basic rights.
Chains and Shackles Await an Unborn Child
Rima, a mother of two young daughters—Yafa (seven years old) and Lamar (five years old)—and three months pregnant, is enduring harsh conditions following her arrest. Her brother describes the suffering of the two little girls, who desperately need their mother by their side—an absence that no family member can truly compensate for.
As time passes, their eyes fill with tears, searching for the warmth of their mother’s embrace, which the occupation has cruelly taken from them. Whether during sleep or play, their days are filled with endless questions about where she is.
The forced separation and pain of losing their mother, especially at such a young age, are beyond their comprehension. The question, “When will our mother come back?” echoes in their home every moment. With each passing day, the entire family pays the price of this unjust arrest, drowning in sorrow and loss, as if children this young are expected to bear the burden of their mother’s absence. Meanwhile, the occupation takes everything—even their right to a mother’s love.
On the other side, Rima is detained in Damon prison alongside 23 other female prisoners, 14 of whom are mothers. They endure harsh conditions that lack even the most basic human necessities, food shortages, mistreatment, abuse, and inadequate medical care. These conditions have worsened significantly since the events of October 7, 2023, as the crackdown on prisoners has escalated, depriving them of their most fundamental rights to a dignified life.
For Rima, being three months pregnant makes her suffering even greater. She lives in constant fear that her baby will be born in a place utterly devoid of humane living conditions. She is denied medical care suitable for her needs as an expecting mother, prison authorities do not provide her with regular check-ups or any attention to her health or that of her unborn child. Even drinking water, as Rima describes, is undrinkable due to its poor quality. The food is insufficient for her nutritional needs as a pregnant woman, and the prison administration does not provide her with essential supplements or vitamins required for a healthy pregnancy.