The Forgotten Palestinian Political Prisoners
by: Ashley Bates on October 20th, 2011 | 19 Comments »
Demonstrators in Haifa, Israel protest Ittijah Director Ameer Makhoul's detention without access to a lawyer in May 2010. Makhoul is serving a nine-year sentence for spying and likely will not be released as part of the prisoner swap. / Oren Ziv
Reading about the suicide bombings and other massacres committed by many of the 1,027 Palestinian prisoners being exchanged for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, it’s easy to feel convinced of Israel’s singular victimhood.
Mainstream news reports of the prisoner swap have focused overwhelmingly on the humanity of Gilad Shalit (who suffered a horrific and harrowing ordeal, to be sure). Implicitly, however, these reports deny the humanity of Palestinian prisoners and leave Western audiences with the mistaken impression that Palestinians are imprisoned only for egregious crimes.
Since 1967, about 20 percent of the Palestinian population have served time in jail. According to Israeli prison statistics published by B’tselem, in August of this year, 272 of the 5,206 Palestinian prisoners were held without trial, 176 were children under 18, and 31 were 16 years old or younger. The majority of these people were not murderers or would-be murderers. Rather, it has become a norm in the Israeli security forces to make politically-charged arrests with questionable evidence.
One possible victim of this tactic is Ameer Makhoul, a 53-year-old human rights advocate and former director of the non-profit Ittijah, which fights discrimination against Palestinian citizens of Israel. This year, Makhoul began serving a nine-year prison sentence for allegedly conspiring with Hezbollah. Amnesty International has called him a “prisoner of conscience” and described his conviction as a “very disturbing development.”
Supporters of Ameer Makhoul say that he is one of many “political prisoners” framed by Israeli agents. The circumstances of his conviction are indeed troubling: Makhoul says that interrogators coerced a false confession extracted during two weeks in which he was tortured, kept in an isolation cell, and denied a lawyer. The Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz accidentally published (and then retracted) the name of the “secret” Hezbollah agent with whom Makhoul met – it turns out he was a Lebanese environmental activist with no apparent connection to Hezbollah.
Over the past three weeks, about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails – including Ameer Makhoul – have waged a part or full-time hunger strike to protest inhumane treatment such as the use of solitary confinement, the arbitrary denials of family visits, and the separation of Palestinian Israelis from West Bank and Gazan Palestinians. Makhoul was recently transferred from Gilboa prison to another facility, presumably because of his role in organizing the hunger strike. Per usual, his lawyers are not allowed to visit him.
Makhoul has played a leading role in promoting Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) and other non-violent protest measures. Such measures are increasingly under attack in the Israeli legal system; an Israeli law passed this year makes it illegal for Israelis to call for a boycott against Israel, even if the boycott targets Israeli settlement products only. Are right-wing Israeli leaders making an example of an outspoken and non-violent anti-Zionist activist as part of a larger campaign against the BDS movement?
While Israel has not yet announced the names of the 580 prisoners to be released in the second phase of the swap, neither Hamas nor Israel have a strong incentive to put Makhoul on the list. Hamas doesn’t gain much political capital from helping out secular, non-violent Palestinian Israelis (although six Palestinian Israelis were freed in the first phase).
And Israel isn’t eager to draw attention to prisoners like Makhoul – prisoners whose plights expose Israel as both a victim and a victimizer.
Touche. Thank you for this post.
I saw that the woman who tried to blow up the hospital in Beershaba not only said that she would do it again but urged the crowd to pick up her mantle. That’s the palestinians
Did you read the article you commented on, Bill? It cites numbers that show that most of the Palestinian prisoners are not murderers, and refers specifically to one Palestinian political prisoner, who has never killed anyone and engaged only in non-violent protest.
Besides, I wonder about your comment “that’s the Palestinians”: have you ever met a palestinian in your life? Talk to her / him as equal? Visited a palestinian city? Village? Read a palestinian novel? Where exactly did you find the racist chutzpa to generalize so confidently and state that about 11 million people are murderous in their character?
I hope you feel at least some shame.
I went to the bank yesterday, and this guy, Bill Pearlman, said he wouldn’t increase my credit line, because I just got laid-off. That’s the Jews.
These anti-Semitic readers are really doing tikkun olam. Winni, youre a disgusting anti-Semite. Wabbit, who cares if you’ve met a Palestinian, do you want a cookie? Or maybe a gold ribbon?
Ashley, this article is a pathetic attempt to once again switch the focus to the poor fairy tale of the Palestinians instead of the reality. Big deal, you brought some quotes in from Btselem and whined about some guy in prison. That surely represents the entire situation here on the ground. Dont whine about the Palestinians in prison while my taxes are paying for their college degrees, satellite tv, and other luxuries. Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by terrorists and held by Hamas, the notorious terrorist organization, for over five years in solidarity without once seeing a doctor.
I hope you all at least feel some shame.
Khaybar, so what do you believe is the reality? That the Palestinians aren’t receiving a majority more of the violence in this conflict. Would a truly jewish state created out of fear of another holocaust, lead a similar displacement and violence that they experienced against a native people. Yes many palestinians are in prison, and yes it is a problem which needs attention. Last time I checked, every Israeli friend I have was talking, or as you put it whining, about the injustice that had occured from the soldier, Gilad Shalit, who was taken captive and put in prison. Now tell me about your strife you must live through. Your taxes? You really want to get into this? Would you rather NOT support Palestinians to obtain college degrees so that they are pressured into a radicalist movement and terrorism? Because you know in your opinion the general consensus must be that education has led to more radicalism. Ya know like in Libya, Egypt, Colombia. I mean you must believe those dictators had the right idea then. And ya know those luxuries you pay for like those Palestinians must live like kings off your tax dollars. Clearly, the reports of below poverty level living and lack of running water and accessible electricity must be wrong. So tell me what you would rather pay for, an IDF soldiers funeral from a terrorist attack, or subsidizing a Palestinians ability to live so they don’t feel the pressure to kill, leaving the soldier unharmed. Do you like that? Your radicalist ideals that have plagued your people! When soldiers kill violent Palestinians and take their families prisoner, you dont think that entices more violence? Dont you see a solution? For all of you, do you really believe that the dissolution of either state is moral or even attainable? For all of you who live in the conflict, do you like to suffer because of the violence you create? Look at the other person, and give a good reason why they should die. Do it! Tell me they dont deserve to tuck their kids in at night! Tell me that they shouldn’t be there for their sons bar mitzvah. Not everyone is innocent but the devils on either side will serve their injustices in hell! I challenge you to believe this is okay. I challenge you.
i see this article as a heartfelt cry for compassion, tolerance and fairness.
it saddens and even frightens me to see the responses representing 2 opposing ‘camps’ that show so few signs of letting this conflict go.
is there truly no higher spirit of recognizing that both ‘sides’ are humans whose basic and deepest needs for love, respect and belonging are ultimately the same?
if we have to live without those values as our base, what quality of existence remains for any of us, collectively or individually, regardless of the outcome?
Bravo for your comment. We need to recognize the humanity of our fellow
human beings. Even Palestinians are created in the image of God.
“EVEN” Palestinian? As if they are some sub-human creatures?
You know, the worst type of racism is the one that pretends to be progressive. Ugh.
1. “Since 1967, about 20 percent of the Palestinian population have served time in jail.” The Palestinian source that is quoted for this statement asserts that 600,000 have been DETAINED at one time or another by Israel. No Israeli sources are cited to corroborate this claim. To be “detained” can mean anything from a few minutes to more. So the very source cited by Bates does not bear her out.
2. In the more than two paragraphs that Bates devotes to the Makhoul case, she does not mention that Makhoul, on the advice of his lawyer, plead guilty of espionage on behalf of Hezbollah. See the article in Haaretz (http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israeli-arab-who-spied-for-hezbollah-jailed-for-nine-years-1.340113)
3. Any system of justice will sometimes make mistakes, and that of course is true of Israel too. But Bates her charges systematic bias, bad faith, and worse. She has no evidence for that, and will convince only those who already hate Israel.
Mr. Khaybar,
I think your complaints are totally justified. This Ashley Bates dude, what’s her deal with numbers and facts? Facts? Who cares about them? Same with the Wabbit – why should we know palestinians before making comments about them? Wouldn’t it make more sense to stick to prejudices and racism, say that all the Palestinians are murderous terrorists, retarded primitives, and shameless anti-semites?
You’re making a real strong point here, buddy. Way to go!
Shira: Just for the sake of clarity, Winni took a racist comment that Bill Pearlman had made earlier and showed that when the very same comment is turned against jews, all of the Pearlmans of this website start screaming “antisemitism!”. Judging by Khaybar’s comment, it worked fairly well. Hypocrisy at its best.
What a pathetic article. The numbers cited are pathetic. “Youths” who break the law, will go to jail, quite simple. They are not held in the general population, so no need to pity these poor freedom fighting criminals.
You failed to mention the strikingly positive conditions these prisoners are given while in prison. They are able to pursue academic studies, they are monitored by the Red Cross, and are at the very least given meals with complete nutrition. Prisoners of Hamas or the PA for that matter, get none of these benefits.
The laughable hunger strike involved a stipulation that prisoners were demanding whole chickens, rather than precut birds. This “barbaric condition” is meant to prevent criminals from getting ahold of knives, which would need to be provided if whole chicken is served. Again, the humanity!…
Don’t be so naive. Not only are Israeli prisons and Israel’s legal system some of the most transparent in the ENTIRE WORLD, many prisoners are even provided educational opportunities they would not be affording living in their slums they call home.
What a plight.
Scott, there is one problem with your erudite comment: it has very little connection to reality. Most of what you wrote has absolutely no factual basis and is based on various anecdotes told by Israeli right wing politicians.
Just a few examples:
* “Israeli prisons and Israel’s legal system [are] some of the most transparent in the ENTIRE WORLD” – actually not. Israel’s legal system is still functioning under the emergency laws the British legislated in 1945. These laws allow the state to hold people without trial forever, and this is exactly what Israel is doing with 272 prisoners, who have never had the opportunity to defend themselves in court.
* “[Palestinian prisoners] are monitored by the red cross” – in fact, not always. Israel has a secret prison called “Mitkan 1391″, which is managed by the Shin Beit and has no oversight from any other institution in the country.
* “The laughable hunger strike involved a stipulation that prisoners were demanding whole chickens, rather than precut birds” – I’m happy you find the hunger strike “laughable”. I allow myself to believe that you have never experienced hunger in your life. But in any event, the strike is not for gaining the “luxury” you are describing here, but rather for their right to be incarcerated in the occupied territories themselves (as the geneva convention requires), have the judicial review on shortening their sentence on the grounds of good behavior (like every prisoner gets), and talk to their families on the phone (ditto). The fact that Israel does not provide the above to these prisoners is a clear violation of their human rights. By the way, the “Damoon Prison”, where Israel is holding hundreds of political prisoners, was proclaimed uninhabitable for human beings by the Israeli State Comptroller in the 1990s. Are these the luxurious conditions you are talking about?
* “Prisoners of Hamas or the PA for that matter, get none of these benefits” – well, how do you know? what exactly is your source of information? I actually know that prisoners in the PA do get family visits and phone calls to their families.
* “Many prisoners are even provided educational opportunities they would not be affording living in their slums they call home” – well, actually a huge percentage of the palestinian population has higher academic degrees, so your orientalist fantasy is not extremely based. Besides, the “slums they call home” are refugee camps that were created because of Israel.
More reports on the Damoon prison, near Haifa:
“30-40 prisoners in the prison have to sleep, permanently, on the floor (in almost every cell there is one or two prisoners who sleep on the floor). The place also has acute wetness, and a concern was raised that it threatens the prisoners’ health. [...] Prisoners also complain on lack of food, on its bad quality…”
(this is a part of a report published by two representatives of the Israeli Public Defender’s Office.
In June 2007 the prison, which has room for only 500 prisoners, was populated by 670 prisoners, 84 of them minors. A later report of the Public Defender’s Office determined that the minors are held in two types of cells: small ones, (16 squared meters) and larger ones (30 squared meters), where no less than 14 boys are held, much lower than the standards in the rest of the world. “A hole in the ground is used as toilets and also as a drain for the shower. In order to take a shower the boys are required to stand above the hole. [...] In addition, the boys do not have access to educational and rehabilitating programs that other minors enjoy in other prisons – according to the policy of the Israeli Prison Authorities, security prisoners are not eligible for this.”
Hey Roi, is anyone listening anymore? Hey look at me, I can copy and paste a whole bunch of statistics into a comment box. Did you learn that from working for Btselem, Breaking the Silence, or any of the other skewed statistic regurgitating anti-Semitic organizations? You in no way countered Scott’s comment, you just wrote more. Kol Hakavod.
No, sweet Khaybar: all of the numbers quoted above are from the ISRAELI PRISON AUTHORITIES, and from the ISRAELI PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE reports. Both are Israeli government agencies. You might think that they’re anti-semitic, of course, but I’m not sure how many people would be convinced.
In any way, I didn’t think I would convince you: people like you never let facts confuse them. Kol Hakavod indeed.
Just FYI, Khaybar: “Breaking the Silence” is an organization of IDF veterans, who risked their lives as soldiers and did for their country much more than any American fascist like yourself would ever dream of doing. Show some respect before calling them “anti-semitic.”
What’s the complaint, the guy that wiped out the passover sedar.The woman who wiped out Sbarros. The guy who smashed in the head of a 4 year old jewish girl. The guy that felt the need to dip his hands in actual Jewish blood. All out. This is a happy day for you the tikkun family
For god’s sake, Bill, READ THE ARTICLE YOU ARE COMMENTING ON!
She’s pointing out that most of the palestinians incarcerated by Israel are NOT – repeat: NOT – involved in any type of killing or terrorist activities.