2023-05-02 13:48:37
There are thousands of people unable to move, but they are capable of causing the uprising of a whole town. The hundreds of Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails are a key element of Palestinian society. The population sees them as national heroes, actors who protect at all costs. Many of them are political leaders, such as Fatah’s Marwan Barghouti, who has been a direct rival to Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas for years. But many of the inmates are civilians without much of a political background. Still, any perceived threat against the Palestinian prison population may trigger tensions or violence in all territories.
For this reason, the recent death of Jader Adnanmember of the Islamic Jihad who succumbed to the hunger strike after 86 dayshas set off all the alerts on both sides of the Green Line. Israel sees Palestinian prisoners like Adnan as security threats accused of participating in attacks or deadly conspiracies. In his case, he was arrested in February on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist group, supporting a terrorist organization and incitement. The relevance of the prisoners in the palestinian society has motivated Israel to accede to their demands to release them, reduce their sentences or improve their living conditions behind bars after organizing hunger strikes.
“Price to Pay”
“The hunger strike has always been the strategic option of the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons”, he explained a few weeks ago Mussa’ab Bashir, journalist and former political prisoner, to ‘EL PERIÓDICO’ after calling for a massive hunger strike. “The success of hunger strikes has always been correlated with the Palestinian political situation out of prisons,” recalled Bashir. And this time the failure of the hunger strike comes at one of the most tense moments in recent decades. More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank so far this year, while 19 Israelis have been killed in attacks allegedly carried out by Palestinians.
Hours after Adnan’s death, three rockets have been released since Gaza Strip. And although the wife of the deceased, Adnan’s widow, has declared that neither she nor her family want any response to the death, Palestinian militias often act on their own. “We don’t want rockets to go off and, instead, se bombardee Gaza”, he told the media outside his home in the occupied West Bank. “Now, after his death and all the sacrifices he made, we don’t want it to spill not a drop of blood”, has added. Groups considered terrorist by Israel have responded that this is the “price to pay” for the Jewish state. The Israeli defense establishment was preparing for a possible escalation of violence in the aftermath of Adnan’s death, including possible prison riots.
“Enough of the talk; [los grupos en Gaza] They shoot when they want we have to kill them“, has said Alone DavidiMayor of Sderot, one of the border towns with the Strip. Three people have been injured by rockets in a construction site in this municipality. In turn, the former defense minister Benny Gantz has warned on Twitter that Gazans “will pay a price for firing at the south” of Israel. The Israeli Army has announced that they have carried out tank attacks against targets in the Gaza Strip after rocket fire.
Under the control of Ben Gvir
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Furthermore, the situation for Palestinian prisoners It has gotten worse in recent months. Adnan’s death takes place in Israel led by the right-wing government of his story. Palestinian prisons and prisoners are supervised by the national security minister, Itamar Ben Gviran ultranationalist who has tightened the restrictions to inmates, including reducing shower time and closing prison bakeries. Currently there are more than 1,000 Palestinians without charge or trial behind bars, the highest number since 2003, according to the Israeli human rights group HaMoked. Meanwhile, on the ground in the occupied territories, the violence of the Israeli Army is compounded by the growing aggressiveness of thousands of settlers who attack with impunity before the inactive gaze of the soldiers.
After one of the most tense Ramadans in years, the palestinian population He tries to respond with the few weapons at his disposal. The citizens have called a general strike in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem in response to Adnan’s death, with protests expected. In addition, in recent months, have emerged among the youth new militant groups who are leading the attacks against Israelis inside and outside the occupied territories. Faced with an even greater escalation of violence, these armed youths are calling for a third intifada, now with nothing to lose.
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