The wife of long-time palestinian prisoner Ali El-Qaisy gave birth to a child on Sunday, having conceived using her husband's sperm, which was smuggled out of prison, according to Palestinian news websites. Haifaa El-Aseer expressed her joy at giving birth to a healthy child weighing 2.5 kilos, according to hospital doctors in the West Bank town of Nablus. However, the doctors said her contentment will be compelete only when her husband has been realesed from jail. El-Qaisy has been in prison in Israel for the past 14 years. The newborn child, named Ghaith, is the couple's third child; they already have a 15-year-old son and a 17-year-old daughter. El-Aseer's new addition was conceived with the use of IVF technology. Palestinian activist Myassar Atyani said that 50 wives of palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have given birth in the same way over the past few years, the first being in 2012. Atyani described the matter as a victory over “the tyranny of Isreali imprisonment”. The management of Nablus Hospital said they will continue providing IVF services to prisoners' wives free of charge.
