‘My happiness is beyond words’ – mother of released Palestinian prisonerpublished at 15:43 Greenwich Mean Time
“I feel so happy, overjoyed—my happiness is beyond words.”
That’s how Khadra al-Daghma, the mother of a recently released Palestinian prisoner, has described the feeling of seeing her son, Ammar Fadel al-Daghma, after 15 years of not seeing him.
According to the Israeli Prison Service he was detained for offences including arson, attempted murder and service to an illegal organisation.
“The entire world feels too small for my joy. I saw my son, and my heart is filled with happiness. I wish the same joy for all mothers and wives, may they all experience this moment, God willing,” she told a reporter in Gaza.
“May all prisons be emptied, God willing.”
“Of course, my son has changed—he is not the same. He has changed a lot,” Daghma said, noting how her son used to be “more beautiful”.
She is ultimately happy though that both her son has returned and that the ceasefire deal has held, and says “the deal was good, may God protect them, and may freedom come to all prisoners”.
- For context: The BBC works with trusted freelance journalists in Gaza, as Israel does not allow independent access for international journalists