Islam Ahmad Talab Halabi Shuli

‘After 40 days of detention, I forgot what Hala looked like.’

After meeting Hana in Damon Prison in the upper Carmel Mountains, prisoner Islam Ahmad Talab Halabi Shuli (born 08.06.1990) appeared. an engineer and mother to Ahmad, Hala and Hour, whose husband Ihab is imprisoned in Megiddo Prison and whose brother Muhammad is detained (she is concerned about his place of detention) and whose mother Dalal is detained in the same prison/Damoun.

She began by saying, " I dreamt about you on Wednesday morning and you came,‘ which broke the barrier between us. I asked her how she celebrated her birthday in prison. She sighed and said, ’The birthdays of Ihab, Hoor, Hala, Ahmed, me, my father, my mother, my sisters Tasnim and Iman, and I are in prison." I promised her a group birthday celebration soon in the space of freedom.

She asked me to convey her regards to her father, saying, ‘Start revising the interpretation of the two glories and stay as you are, my crown,’ and to Fawaz, "Mum says: Do you know how much we miss you? Do you know what we are going through?‘ Omar: ’The belt and Mum are telling you: don't give up on your convictions.‘ Tasnim and Iman: ’My two eyes." Saad (may God be pleased with him):
O you who are absent from me, you are my soul. How can I bear to be separated from my soul?

And to Nour (Ashraf's wife), ‘Greetings to the host, whoever gave my children a date, its sweetness melted in my mouth,’ and to Ahmed Ibrahim and Iyas Yassin, ‘You are the crown on my head,’ and to Baba, her children, her brothers, and her mother's grandchildren, Dalal: Ahmed, Quds, Sham, and Barhoum.

Islam in Room 11, accompanied by Aya Khateeb (she needs a proper diving suit), Shireen, Shaima, Lina Al-Mukhtasib, and Ruba Dar Nasser.

She told me about her arrest on 13 February 2025. ‘When they arrested me, Hala was sleeping in her father's abaya, laughing with her uncle Omar.’ Suddenly, she paused for a moment and teared up, adding, ‘After 40 days of detention, I forgot what Hala looked like, and that was the hardest moment in prison. I started kissing my mother's hand seven times for my brothers.’ I had severe varicose veins in my right leg, and they made me sign a ‘confession,’ thinking it was so I could talk to my children on the phone!

She told me what she had heard from her colleagues about the conditions of detention in Petah Tikva: ‘They beat them with electricity, hung them upside down, searched them completely naked, and laughed at them!’

She told me about the suppression, tear gas, beatings and abuse, but despite that, ‘our health is excellent, our morale is high, and we are waiting for our imminent release. Don't worry about us and don't forget us in your prayers.’

A message from Islam on behalf of the women of Damoun:
‘Step on the carpet with your slippers, freedom is at the door.

Step on the carpet with your sleeves, tomorrow you will be in your mother's arms.’

When we parted, she stopped me and said, ‘Please, sir, follow us, Saad has graduated, and we are reassured.’

My dear Islam, best wishes to you, and freedom to you and all the women of Damoun.

Damoun/Haifa, 2 July 2025