From a reader: "Since July 19th, when America’s secretary of state, John Kerry, announced that
peace talks would restart, Israel—say human-rights campaigners—has detained
eight times as many Palestinians as it has just released....
Human-rights groups estimate that 750,000 Palestinians have passed through Israeli prisons since the West Bank and Gaza were conquered in 1967. Some 2,300 Palestinians were detained in the first six months of this year alone....
They include 14 members of the Palestinian parliament and hundreds of non-violent protesters who have tried in vain to stop Israel’s army and settlers from acquiring their land. The military laws that Israel applies in the occupied territories make anyone taking part in anti-Israeli demonstrations liable to be arrested. Under Military Order 1651, throwing stones at people or property can carry a ten-year jail sentence. Of those Palestinians in prison, 193 are minors, nearly all brought to court in leg shackles and handcuffs.
Conviction rates for Palestinians in Israel’s military courts, where most politically motivated cases are heard, exceed 99%. So many are processed every day that there is scant time to delve into detail, let alone study cases in advance. Military judges, working in makeshift courts, rely on the testimony of soldiers to secure convictions, but when they fail to turn up, the detainees are often sent back to prison.
What Palestinians want as a sign of good intent, is the release of thousands, not scores, of their compatriots. "
Human-rights groups estimate that 750,000 Palestinians have passed through Israeli prisons since the West Bank and Gaza were conquered in 1967. Some 2,300 Palestinians were detained in the first six months of this year alone....
They include 14 members of the Palestinian parliament and hundreds of non-violent protesters who have tried in vain to stop Israel’s army and settlers from acquiring their land. The military laws that Israel applies in the occupied territories make anyone taking part in anti-Israeli demonstrations liable to be arrested. Under Military Order 1651, throwing stones at people or property can carry a ten-year jail sentence. Of those Palestinians in prison, 193 are minors, nearly all brought to court in leg shackles and handcuffs.
Conviction rates for Palestinians in Israel’s military courts, where most politically motivated cases are heard, exceed 99%. So many are processed every day that there is scant time to delve into detail, let alone study cases in advance. Military judges, working in makeshift courts, rely on the testimony of soldiers to secure convictions, but when they fail to turn up, the detainees are often sent back to prison.
What Palestinians want as a sign of good intent, is the release of thousands, not scores, of their compatriots. "
