Blog: Dalia Nassar narrowly escaped death when she was shot in the chest by the Israeli army, buts says she will not give up her struggle.
"I've gotten used to the bullet inside me. It won't stop me from taking part in the resistance against Israeli occupation just like thousands of other Palestinians," said activist Dalia Nassar from her hospital bed in Ramallah.
On October 6, an Israeli sniper shot the graduate student in the chest, missing her heart by millimetres.
Nassar had been taking part in clashes against Israeli security forces near the illegal West Bank settlement of Beit El when the sniper's bullet pierced her left lung and became lodged in her spine.
The young socialist joined the ongoing uprising when 19-year-old Muhannad al-Halabi was killed by Israeli police, after he allegedly fatally stabbed two Israelis in the Old City of Jerusalem.
"I saw that my colleagues who have to work after university to provide for their families were the first to take to the streets against the Israeli occupation," Nassar told al-Araby al-Jadeed's Arabic service.
On October 6, an Israeli sniper shot the graduate student in the chest, missing her heart by millimetres.
Nassar had been taking part in clashes against Israeli security forces near the illegal West Bank settlement of Beit El when the sniper's bullet pierced her left lung and became lodged in her spine.
The young socialist joined the ongoing uprising when 19-year-old Muhannad al-Halabi was killed by Israeli police, after he allegedly fatally stabbed two Israelis in the Old City of Jerusalem.
"I saw that my colleagues who have to work after university to provide for their families were the first to take to the streets against the Israeli occupation," Nassar told al-Araby al-Jadeed's Arabic service.
"I knew then that I couldn't just stand by and look on. I decided the time had come to take serious action on the ground," she added.
Nassar had been participating in protests and clashes with Israeli security forces since the start of the recent escalation following Israeli incursions on Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque last month.
"I was involved in all the clashes throughout the first four days of the uprising until I was shot, but I was sad because most of the time I was the only woman there," the Birzeit University student said.
"I am now happy to see that more women are standing side by side with the men in the fighting," she added.
Nassar was born into politically active Christian family; her mother Maha was a member the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a leftist political party.
"I am proud of my mum and I want to follow in her footsteps," Nassar cheerfully said, in spite of the intravenous tubes attached to her body.
"Some people think that because I am from a Christian family I have more freedom than Muslim women but that's not true. We all suffer from the same social restrictions," she said.
"At protests and clashes the men usually have a go at me. They ask me why I am there and tell me they don't want me around. But I knew things would change," Nassar said.
The activist has been a strong advocate of social justice and women's rights in Palestine.
Nassar's small room in the Palestine Medical Complex has become a congregation place for her friends who come to see her every evening after the clashes die down.
In spite of her severely weakened state, Nassar has made it a habit to check on all the other injured and wounded Palestinians, who have been pouring into the hospital every day.
"As soon as I am better and come back from Jordan, where I will receive medical care, I'll be back in the demonstrations and clashes, fighting for Palestine," the defiant young activist said with a smile.
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