the diaries of palestine.

Hanadi Halawani

"When I look at you... I don't see you by the sad eyes of the banished one, I see you with my loving eyes, who believes in Allah's promise of victory...
I see you and I realize that my soul is very close to you despite the long distance, that it is right there admiring you, holding on to its rights, and holding on to its land and home "

These are the words of Hanadi Halawani.
The resistance of Al_aqsa taught us many lessons, about patience Persistence, and faith.
They taught us to fight back against the cruel oppressors with all we have, with our words by raising our voices, and by our feet by standing our ground and remaining strong and faithful to our cause, they taught us that fear and weakness only exists in the hearts of cowards... And I learned from them a lot about the importance of holding on to our bond, doctrine, and cause, and having faith in a near victory even in the depth of despair.

Hanadi Halawani is one of the resistance in Al_aqsa mosque, she's been rarested and banished by the Israeli government many times, but every time she would come back stronger, with more passion and loyalty to Al_aqsa mosque in her heart.

Another one of her quotes:
" Jerusalem knows who spends the nights praying for its freedom... And who spends the nights working with the unjust Usurpers insulting and destroying it"

Hanadi is a Quran teacher in Al_aqsa mosque, other than teaching the Quran to the children of Jerusalem, she also taught us a lot about the cause of Islam and humanity, she's a teacher for every Arab attached to his homeland Palestine and every Muslim attached to Jerusalem and Al_aqsa mosque.

Like all the other resistants she endured being arrested and captured by the occupation, she was forced to take off her hijab and was searched naked in the Israeli prisons, she stayed in the dirty prison cells with a 24 hours’ camera watching her every move, she suffered the cruelty of the jailers and was threatened and cursed by the Israeli detectives.
Yet every time she would walk out of jail as the same woman who walked in... She would walk out as Hanadi the strong determined resistant.

Hanadi talks about when she spent a night in Alramla prison and about her trial:

Alhamdulillah who had been kind to me and got me out of the jail’s humiliation and oppression, Alhamdulillah who raises us by testing us, and Allah is surely greater than those who abuse and oppress us!

The next day after I received the banishment from Al_aqsa mosque for 6 months’ command, the border guards who were watching me for a week stopped me and arrested me as soon as I reached Bab_Alasbat gate and took me for investigation.

They took me to the police station, and I was accused of attempting to break the banishment, they ordered me to sign a banishment order from the old city of Jerusalem for 15 days!
I refused because I would never sign willingly on an order made by the occupation.

They told me that I will stay in Almaskobia prison, then they left me handcuffed waiting to be moved to prison until 1 Am!
While I was waiting to be moved, an officer came and asked me why I refused to sign, I told him that the violation they claim is in Al_aqsa so why would I be banished from the old city?
He nodded his head in deceit and left.

They later told me that I was being moved to Alramalla prison not Almaskobia as they told me and my husband earlier.
That was the sixth time I go to Alramalla prison which was held for the criminal hostages!
They moved me to Albosta, then one of the worst nights of my life began!

I arrived late at the prison feeling terribly exhausted from the constant investigation and from thirst and hunger, as usual, they gave me a naked humiliating search, which had no point other than humiliating the prisoners,
And what made it worse is that I couldn't find anyone who speaks Arabic and could understand what I was saying!

The female soldier made me choose between my headscarf and my jilbab (a long-sleeved dress), I tried to tell her that both of them were equally important and they both represent my identity as a Muslim, I tried to explain it to her but there was no point, no one there spoke Arabic.
I yelled at her when she took my hijab (headscarf) by force and left, I kept yelling hoping to find someone who understands Arabic and might return my hijab but again to no use.

At 3:40 Am, a Psychologist who also doesn't speak Arabic walked in, but she knew some English words.
She handed me a paper and asked me to sign it, the paper said that I will give up the privacy of this session, I gave her the paperback and said
" I'm not crazy or a psychopath and I don't need A treatment session"

She said trying to prove me wrong " This is your sixth time here and you've been yelling since you areved"
I told her that I was yelling because I was asking for my hijab and no one was answering!
I refused to sign so she took the papers and left.

In the Medical Examination which they make the prisoners take before entering the cells, one of the soldiers told me to give her my pants because it was black which isn't allowed in this prison!
I yelled at her and refused to give it to her, until the doctor stepped in and tried to convince her otherwise, so she took out heavy winter pants to exchange it with mine.

I gave her the pants feeling humiliated like I never felt before, the doctor noticed a decline in my blood pressure so he gave me a cup of water and a small box of yogurt, I drank it then they took me to my cell.
The cell contained 2 prisoners other than me and 3 cameras and no privacy.

I asked for my hijab, they told me I will have it in the trail,
I was covering my hair with a small headband that can't cover all my hair, so I tried to stay as far from the camera as I can, and I tried to cover my head with anything I could find.

Hours later the jailer came to take me to the trail which was held through skyp program.
I asked him to give me my hijab, but he refused, I tried to cover my neck with the mask I was wearing, my heart was bleeding because of the humiliation I was enduring, I sat in front of the computer while I was still asking for my hijab.
I heard the voice of the lawyer saying " Om Mahmood, we can see you"

I burst out and said, " No one here understands me, I want my hijab and they refused to give it to me!"

It was an ugly indescribable moment, nothing is uglier than when a Muslim woman is torn off of her hijab, and a group of filthy men (or beneath men beings) look at her, I was truly in a pathetic situation!

The trail started, the prosecutor demanded to have me banished from the old city of Jerusalem for 90 days, and he handed the Judge a file that contains my words from a previous investigation in which I say that "I don't recognize the general of Jerusalem, and that he doesn't have the right to banish me "
He wanted to prove that I wanted to break the banishment order.

In the end, the judge’s rule was to get me banished from the old city of Jerusalem for 15 days, while banishing me from Al-Aqsa for 6 months, and to make me pay a 1000 shekels fine and to sign on a 5000-shekel bail.

The judge's rule struck my heart like thunder!
I tried to talk, but the lawyer said they had muted me... The jailer brutally dragged me to another room.

I stayed there until it was time for my release, I prayed to God to grant me strength until my husband arrives to pick me up,
I asked for my ID which they took during the investigation, they said that they didn’t know where it is, my lawyer contacted the police station and they denied taking it.
And so the series of humiliation finally came to an end.

I don't know... What made them that daring toward the Muslim women, how can they go that far in abusing them each time?
Did they ensure the silence of Muslims and their ignorance?
Or maybe when they saw our nation ditching the responsibility of protecting Al-Aqsa they guaranteed that we will ditch protecting our women too!

They wasted our dignity, they robbed and desecrated our sacred places?
So why are we still silent?
What else are we waiting for?