Reunited, and it feels so good: Gazan mother finally holds baby after six month wait

Little Maryam, a Palestinian premature infant, has finally felt the loving touch of her mother for the first time after languishing for more than six months in a Jerusalem hospital, according to the Times of Israel.

Jumana Daoud, Maryam's mother, had to return to Gaza after the birth to take care of her other children. Meanwhile, premature Maryam remained in an incubator in Jerusalem in order to live. However, Jumana was forced to wait over six months before being granted permission to return to Jerusalem and retrieve her baby girl.

As Gazans, Maryam and her mother have some of the most restricted movement in the world. Residents of Gaza must submit applications through the Palestinian Authority (PA) to enter Israel, but often it can take months for their requests to be granted. Sometimes, they are denied entry, which can have fatal consequences.

Alternatively, COGAT (the Israeli agency in charge of dealing with Palestine and processing such requests), can conveniently claim that you never submitted an application in the first place. And when a story like Maryam’s makes the nightly news, the Israeli authorities can call mother Jumana Daoud a few hours after, granting her travel request and saving the day. And then they can claim that the PA never submitted a request on Maryam’s behalf. No ulterior motives or reason for doubt here, folks.

The important thing is that baby Maryam is finally where she belongs--in the arms of her mother. 

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