Erez, Israel – Agzaya al-Karan held her son Salamah in a tearful embrace moments after passing through the Beit Hanoun border crossing into Israel from Gaza.
Three weeks ago, the 51-year-old had been deported to the blockaded Gaza Strip after 32 years of living in Israel, leaving behind her 12 children, the youngest of whom is eight years old.
But for now, Agzaya is heading back home to the Bedouin community of Khashem Zanneh near the city of Beersheba after the Israeli authorities backtracked on their deportation order following media attention on her story.
Speaking at the border crossing, called Erez in Israel, Agzaya said on Monday that she was tired after her ordeal, which began when she was stopped by an Israeli officer at a checkpoint on August 6 and asked for her identification card. She could not produce one, she said, because her ex-husband burned her documents and she was unable to renew the temporary permit the Gaza-born woman had used to stay in Israel.
Agzaya married a Palestinian citizen of Israel in 1993. Agzaya said she suffered from domestic abuse and her ex-husband would beat their children. Since he abandoned their family several years ago, she has had the sole responsibility of raising their children.
Salameh said the past few weeks had been “very hard” for the family.
Article from www.aljazeera.com