Israeli mother demands to include her three kids into Shalit's swap deal
Israeli mother demands to include her three kids into Shalit's swap deal
12:44, December 20, 2009 
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Galit Popok, a mother of six in Gaza, went to Israel with three children in 2006 to see her parents, and never came back, leaving the other three behind.
Last week, Galit told the Israeli Daily Ma'ariv that she has applied to the Israeli government with a request to include her three children in Gaza into the prisoners' swap deal between Hamas and Israel.
"The price that Israel will pay for the release of Shalit is high, and I believe that Israel can also pay a price and help me getting my children back," Galit told the Israeli paper in an interview last week.
The family-split story had since turned from a humanitarian issue into a political one.
The 56-year-old paternal grandfather Mahmoud al-Qedra, living in Beit Lahia town in northern Gaza Strip with his three granddaughters pleaded to the Israeli government to have the mother and the other three kids back.
Popok is an Israeli Jewish woman who got married ten years ago to Rami al-Qedra, a Palestinian from northern Gaza Strip. Her husband was killed this year in the Israeli war on the Hamas-ruled enclave, which lasted for 22 days and ended in January 18.
The 28-year-old woman had converted to Islam when she got married and had been living with her husband's family in Beit Lahia for seven years, before she walked out on her husband and three children.
Popok said that the youngest two kids in Gaza are three-year-old twins. They were 27 days old when she left the Gaza Strip.
Popok's father had witnessed the marriage of his daughter to Rami, but Galit did not tell her parents that she converted to Islam after she got married.
Her parents went mad at her when they knew that she went to live in Gaza and became a Moslem, said the grandfather Mahmoud al-Qedra.
Al-Qedra said her parents' anger hasn't influenced the happy life of Galit and Rami, who lived together for seven years and had one son and five daughters. When she left Gaza three years ago, she took with her one boy and two girls and left three girls with us at home.
Two of her children who were born in Nazareth hold the Israeli citizenship, while the other four kids who were born in Gaza are Palestinian citizens, said the grandfather, who expressed hope that the mother reconsiders returning home.
Rami's father said that during her stay in Gaza, her parents tried to exert pressure on her to leave Gaza with her children to live in Israel, adding that "Galit had rejected her parents' request and insisted to live with her husband and children."
"But one day, her mother told her that she was sick and she needed to see her. Galit went with the children in December 2006, and never came back," said al-Qedra.
When Galit left Gaza, she did not tell her husband where she was going. She took with her Mahmoud, the boy, and the two girls Donian and Tamam, leaving behind the twin girls Salima and Dalia and the eldest daughter Yasmin.
Galit had been in touch with her husband and her children, said the grandfather, adding that "whenever Rami asked her to come back home with the kids, she would say that the Israeli government and her parents did not allow her to return to Gaza."
She told her husband to bring the three kids and come and live with her in Israel. Rami was questioned several times by the Israeli intelligence, and was then offered to live in Israel with the rest of his family. But he refused and insisted that the mother and the three kids should come back home.
The grandfather condemned an Israeli court's decision which ruled that the three kids should stay with their mother.
"My grandchildren are Moslems and their mother is Moslem too. The court's decision is unfair, taking Moslem children and force them to live in Israel," he said.
He said he rejects any decision to include his three grandchildren into the prisoners' swap deal.
He called on the Israeli authorities to enable Galit and her three children to come back home to live in Gaza with her other three daughters "who are in a bad need of their mother,"
"I beg my mother to come back home, because we need her to be with us and live with us," said Yasmin.
Source: Xinhua
Last week, Galit told the Israeli Daily Ma'ariv that she has applied to the Israeli government with a request to include her three children in Gaza into the prisoners' swap deal between Hamas and Israel.
"The price that Israel will pay for the release of Shalit is high, and I believe that Israel can also pay a price and help me getting my children back," Galit told the Israeli paper in an interview last week.
The family-split story had since turned from a humanitarian issue into a political one.
The 56-year-old paternal grandfather Mahmoud al-Qedra, living in Beit Lahia town in northern Gaza Strip with his three granddaughters pleaded to the Israeli government to have the mother and the other three kids back.
Popok is an Israeli Jewish woman who got married ten years ago to Rami al-Qedra, a Palestinian from northern Gaza Strip. Her husband was killed this year in the Israeli war on the Hamas-ruled enclave, which lasted for 22 days and ended in January 18.
The 28-year-old woman had converted to Islam when she got married and had been living with her husband's family in Beit Lahia for seven years, before she walked out on her husband and three children.
Popok said that the youngest two kids in Gaza are three-year-old twins. They were 27 days old when she left the Gaza Strip.
Popok's father had witnessed the marriage of his daughter to Rami, but Galit did not tell her parents that she converted to Islam after she got married.
Her parents went mad at her when they knew that she went to live in Gaza and became a Moslem, said the grandfather Mahmoud al-Qedra.
Al-Qedra said her parents' anger hasn't influenced the happy life of Galit and Rami, who lived together for seven years and had one son and five daughters. When she left Gaza three years ago, she took with her one boy and two girls and left three girls with us at home.
Two of her children who were born in Nazareth hold the Israeli citizenship, while the other four kids who were born in Gaza are Palestinian citizens, said the grandfather, who expressed hope that the mother reconsiders returning home.
Rami's father said that during her stay in Gaza, her parents tried to exert pressure on her to leave Gaza with her children to live in Israel, adding that "Galit had rejected her parents' request and insisted to live with her husband and children."
"But one day, her mother told her that she was sick and she needed to see her. Galit went with the children in December 2006, and never came back," said al-Qedra.
When Galit left Gaza, she did not tell her husband where she was going. She took with her Mahmoud, the boy, and the two girls Donian and Tamam, leaving behind the twin girls Salima and Dalia and the eldest daughter Yasmin.
Galit had been in touch with her husband and her children, said the grandfather, adding that "whenever Rami asked her to come back home with the kids, she would say that the Israeli government and her parents did not allow her to return to Gaza."
She told her husband to bring the three kids and come and live with her in Israel. Rami was questioned several times by the Israeli intelligence, and was then offered to live in Israel with the rest of his family. But he refused and insisted that the mother and the three kids should come back home.
The grandfather condemned an Israeli court's decision which ruled that the three kids should stay with their mother.
"My grandchildren are Moslems and their mother is Moslem too. The court's decision is unfair, taking Moslem children and force them to live in Israel," he said.
He said he rejects any decision to include his three grandchildren into the prisoners' swap deal.
He called on the Israeli authorities to enable Galit and her three children to come back home to live in Gaza with her other three daughters "who are in a bad need of their mother,"
"I beg my mother to come back home, because we need her to be with us and live with us," said Yasmin.
Source: Xinhua
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