Israeli false narrative on Palestinian prisoners exposed: Intercept
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In The Intercept, Jeremy Scahill examines how "Israel's" false narrative surrounding Palestinian detainees simply serves to exacerbate its repressive practices.
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Israa Jaabis, after she was released by "Israel", is hugged by relatives as she arrives home in the east al-Quds neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, early Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023 (AP)
More than two-thirds of the Palestinians proposed for release by "Israel" under the truce have not been convicted of any crimes. Most were arrested as children.
According to Jeremy Scahill, the Israeli government's story regarding Palestinian prisoners released during the temporary truce is both deceptive and dishonest.
He writes in The Intercept that not only were a majority of them arrested as children, but they were also unconvicted of any real crimes.
A four-day humanitarian truce went into effect in Gaza at 7 am (GMT+2) Friday after a deal was reached between the Israeli occupation and Hamas on the matter following an Israeli aggression that persisted for 47 days, leaving tens of thousands injured, killed, and displaced.
As if that is not enough torture and infringement on human rights for Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to deny them the mere pleasure of celebrating their release.
“My instructions are clear: there are to be no expressions of joy,” since according to him, any happiness is “equivalent to backing terrorism, victory celebrations give backing to those human scum, for those Nazis," while he instructed Israeli police to use an "iron fist" to ensure his rules are followed.
Scahill notes that the Netanyahu administration and its allies foster an "Alice in Wonderland" myth that these Palestinians are all "hardened terrorists" who committed terrible crimes, condemning them in the public realm before any "sham" trial.
He also adds that the allegations themselves carry no weight since they come from a "military that acts as a brutal occupation force against Palestinians in the West Bank."
Majority of adult prisoners arrested as teens
The author emphasizes that a majority of the anticipated 300 prisoners to be released are teenage males and 124 are under the age of 18, including a 15-year-old girl. Additionally, many of those 18 and older reached adulthood while imprisoned, meaning that they were minors as per the definitions provided in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The worst part, according to Scahill, is that 233 of the total number have yet to be convicted of any crimes and are not in any fair judicial proceedings, contrary to the lies "Israel" spreads.
"Palestinians are not prosecuted in civil courts; they are tried in military courts. They often are denied access to lawyers and to purported evidence against them, and are regularly held in isolation for extreme periods and subjected to other forms of abuse."
Shortly after being liberated as part of the temporary truce enforced by the Resistance, a number of formerly imprisoned Palestinian women made short statements to Al Mayadeen expressing their sour-sweet felicity of liberation and offering an insight into the cruel conditions in Israeli prisons.
Rawan Abu Ziyadeh told Al Mayadeen that Palestinian female prisoners are subjected to severe violations in Israeli prisons.
The author criticizes the only "democracy" that "Israel" believes itself to be and challenges the system to give imprisoned Palestinians due process and try them in the same civilian courts as Israelis.
"Israel is asking the world to believe that these 300 people are all dangerous terrorists, yet it has built a kangaroo military court system for Palestinians that magically churns out a nearly 100 percent conviction rate."
He emphasizes that even the Palestinians who have "committed violent acts" are not seen with relevant context to that violence, particularly the fact that they live under an apartheid regime under "appalling conditions".
He goes even further to compare this violence with the senseless and ruthless targeting of Palestinians by Israeli settlers for no reason other than expelling them from their homes.
Scahill suggests that "Israel" should be judged based on how it treats the least powerful, not the most powerful or those from a particular faith or ethnicity.
