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Mother of Palestinian Prisoners Lacks Faith in PA Leadership

Linah Alsaafin speaks to the mother of four Palestinian detainees, a woman who refuses to give up hope even with "nonexistent" support from the Palestinian Authority officials to families of prisoners.
Rukia, the mother-in-law of Palestinian prisoner Ibtisam Issawi, holds a flag outside her home in the Arab East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Jabal Mukaber October 17, 2011, as the family prepares for the release of Issawi in a prisoner swap that is expected to take place on Tuesday. Israel and Gaza's Hamas Islamist rulers have agreed to swap 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in return for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been held captive in Gaza since 2006. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL

As the hunger strikes of Ayman Sharawneh, Samer Issawi, Tareq Qa’dan and Ja’far Ezzedine continue, protests in support of the prisoners have increased, bringing more attention to their plight. The stories of other Palestinian prisoners and their families, so often reduced to numbers and statistics, are rife with pain and hope.

In a small dark house on the outskirts of the al-Am’ari refugee camp in Ramallah resides Latifa Abu Hmeid, known as the Khansaa of Palestine — a name given to a woman as a testament to the pain and suffering she endures with dignity.

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